Legends
by Raspberry Waste
Summary: A deity has unleashed an unimaginable force upon Hyrule and the world, and the Hero is once and reincarnated to fix the problem. With the weight of the Heroes before him on his shoulders he must prove himself with the help of an unlikely ally.
1. Chapter 00

Legends-Preface

"Are you sure there are no other ways? Must you choose this path?" She winced at her ow voice. It sounded desperate, even to her.

"Yes." Came the simple, hollow reply. She spared her nothing, no sort of condolence. This was mere business for a Spirit.

"Where is Lilac? I want to hear it from her." That earned the goddess a unimpressed glare.

"I don't understand why. Just because I'm not the leader doesn't make me any less qualified." She stood stock-still in silence. The annoyance that radiated from her form was nearly palpable. She was correct, of course. Jonquil was among those who created everything, even the three goddesses.

"I apologize." The two stood in silence. As it dragged on, one became increasingly more impatient with the other. "When do you plan on fixing your mistake?"

"Calm down Nayru. We have plenty of time. For a goddess of wisdom you sure have little patience. It's not like you at all."

"It's hard to stay calm when one of your own has made a mistake. I don't see why you haven't locked her away. She's already caused enough problems in your other worlds, and now she's toying with the land you created for us. Do you realize what she's unleashed upon Hyrule?"

"I realize your situation is grave, but Clover is free to do as she wishes. We will not make choices for our sister. Now be patient." Nayru sent a glare at the other woman but couldn't hold it. It wasn't in her nature to be angry when there wasn't anything that could be done about it. She was concerned for her world if anything else.

It was the newest of the Spirit's creations. An experiment in the making, an experiment that seemed to be going right for a change. Although, it was a world like many others. Just another copy of Earth with a few add-ons and changes. The biggest difference was Hyrule. It housed all of the newest experimental races on it, but a few of these races were being spread thin by the dominating race on all other worlds; the human species was a force to be reckoned with. The humans seemed to spread like a plague, unstopping and swift. It was difficult to comprehend why such a weak and blind race could flourish. Maybe that is why the Spirits continue to test them.

The Spirit before her shifted before turning toward the goddess. Jonquil was taller than Nayru, and much creepier. The Spirits were a curious sort with humanoid aspects. They all lacked the same things though. No ears, no eyebrows, no skin colour, and no pupils or eye whites, just colour; the colour of liquid gold. Even their mouths were hard to see at times, their skin being stony white, making it nearly impossible to tell if the Spirits had the capability to feel emotion.

Jonquil smiled and pushed some of her blond hair out of those creepy, shining yellow, blank eyes. It almost gave Nayru chills. There was always this air about the Spirits. They knew everything, even the future at this point. And Jonquil flaunted it proudly.

"I think you'll be satisfied with our path choice."

"There's a choice in this?" Nayru interjected. "Clover has unleashed an unimaginable force upon Hyrule. All of his efforts went to waste I hope you know." She wasn't angry sounding, simply defeated. Jonquil wasn't offended in the least and continued to smile at the wisdom goddess.

"Exactly. Lilac has already incarnated your Hero, along with the memories that matter most. We've also given him a very reliable partner. I'm sure she'll be a very good helping hand. The rest will be up to them."

"That's all? Just leave it to him? This is more than Hyrule at stake!" Jonquil sighed lightly to let Nayru know she was annoyed by her behaviour.

"I thought he your favourite? Besides, the Hero has saved more than just Hyrule before."

"He is our favourite. I just thought you would do a little more to save your world even if it is just an experiment." Nayru looked away from her superior. She never noticed her surroundings before now. She had been summoned and told the horrible news before she could even spare her surroundings a single glance. The reason she may not have noticed other than the devastating news was because there was no surrounding. Just white, like a never ending blizzard, and the two merely floated in the midst of it, unaffected.

"Experiment? I guess you could call it that if you wanted to. You should know that this, and every other world means much more to us than an experiment though. We have designed and created over a billion souls, per world, many of which we lost. We mourn for those souls, which is why we do what we do. We are trying to find the best place for where these souls may rest forever in peace. Where choices may be made by the souls for the betterment of themselves. But it seems no matter where we go, the souls of the dark Spirits have created seep through the cracks and taint everything."

"Then do something about it!" Nayru looked back up at Jonquil. She had her back turned to her, staring into nothingness.

"You should watch your tone of voice when speaking to a superior. Remember who created you? Our time will come when the remaining dark Spirits will fall. Until then, we are doing what we must."

Nayru understood. She may not like what was being done, but there was absolutely nothing she could do to change it.

"Are you finished arguing with me?" Jonquil asked in a hushed tone. Nayru continued to stare at her as the Spirit turned, a small smirk plastered on her face.

"Yes." Nayru answered. She was defeated. Nothing could be changed.

"Good. Now please explain the situation to your sisters. Being the wisest, they should surely listen to you."


	2. Chapter 01

Legends: Chapter One

Tokyo was experiencing it's worst heat wave in decades. Even the night air was hot and sticky. It brought no relief from the blistering heat. What it did bring was the scent of burning rubber and gasoline. Like most cities Tokyo never slept; it didn't know the meaning of said word. They would have their fun, no matter the weather.

Personally, she hated the heat. Clubs were even worse. Mixing the two together was out of the question. Yet, here she was amongst the raving crowd. She needed to find him, even if it meant enduring the mass amount of body heat and having her leg humped by strangers as she cut her way through the partygoers.

Some voice in the back of her head said this was stupid and that she was wasting her time here. It whispered for her to turn back to her one bedroom apartment and sleep instead. She wanted to obey it's alluring offers, but continued her way through the crowded dance floor dismally. She was promised something valuable and she wanted it. Badly enough to put up with the sweaty dancers, the loud pounding techno music, and flashing, colourful lights. Once again, for the thousandth time, she was thankful she wasn't epileptic, or something of the sort.

She had already been scouring for nearly an hour. She didn't bother to dance and only bought a bottle of water. She was too preoccupied for such nonsense (not that this was her type of scene in the first place). Despite her efforts she had failed to spot him even once. She thought he'd be fairly easy to find amongst the dark haired crowd. He had blond hair, blue eyes and lightly tanned skin. He really shouldn't be so damn hard to find.

She just started believing the voice in the back of her head when she caught a glimpse of a yellow blur in the corner of her eye. She was almost at the door too. Had he really been sitting at the bar the whole time? Judging by the way he was swaying in his seat he must have been drinking for quite some time. Annoyed and tired she made her way over to him.

"Oi!" She gave him a bit of a shove to make sure she got his attention.

"Hmm?" He turned to look at her with unsteady, deep blue eyes. It took him a while to realize she really was talking to him, and even then he didn't give her any words of true acknowledgement. She stared back with solitary grey-blue eyes. She wore a simple black dress and a small white jacket. He noticed, with great amusement, the dress made her look slim. Her short black hair was a mess and oily from the heat. She didn't look very amused by his gawking. Impatiently she tapped her foot and cleared her throat.

"Yes?" He asked in a silky voice.

"You're drunk. I'm taking you home." He raised an eyebrow, clearly liking the idea.

"Oh, really?" With very little grace he stood. He took a closer look at her and she had to back up so his face wouldn't collide with hers. The harsh smell of alcohol rolled off of him in waves, and she held her breath. "I don't believe I've-" He hiccupped slightly, covering her in the foul scent. It took all of her patients to keep herself from hurting him. "-met you before."

"Of course you have you idiot. Now give me your keys so I can drive you home before you do something stupid." He looked at her, a little confused, but gave her the keys anyway. She looked familiar enough. The two walked to the parking lot in silence. He stopped half way in the alley, staring at the girl before him. She stopped only moments after him and turned to see what the matter was.

"I still don't think we've met." A small smirk crept into her features. It looked like it belonged there.

"We have met. You really don't remember me?" She proceeded to walk slowly toward where he stood. He shook his head slightly, unsure if he should shake his head. "Really? I thought I would have left a lasting impression. You met me two weeks ago. I was the one to break into your meth lab and kill all your men except for one. You."

Her smirk didn't waver once. The man sobered up so quickly she could see the hang-over forming in his clouded blue eyes. He was too late. Before he could utter a single syllable she had closed the gap in one bound and twisted his neck until it made a sickening snapping noise. She let his limp body fall to the pavement. His corpse made little sound as it struck the ground. She felt no pity for this man.

"How you got away two weeks ago will amaze me forever. Not that it matters now. I guess Hiver can cross Takahashi Kai off of his list." She left the body there, knowing Hiver would send someone else for it. For now she could just listen to the voice from earlier and get some rest. Under an air conditioner. With a cool glass of water.

The morning light awoke her from her dreamless sleep. Knowing she wouldn't be able to go back to sleep she got up and went through her morning routine. Shower. Eat. Brush teeth. Watch the morning news.

Hiver was usually right on time, popping up the day after a mission straight after the morning news. For as long as she could remember he had always been on time unless he had news that was more horrid than usual to her. This unnerved her enough to turn off the TV. She couldn't concentrate on it now.

He was an entire hour late when he showed up, and he was smiling; another sign of the apocalypse. The news must be _really _bad.

"You're late." She stated blandly. On the inside anxiety ran rampant. The thing about Hiver was that he never started a conversation, and the only answers given were vague. He just floated in the middle of the living room, smiling a mile a minute. She hated his smile more than anything. Except social contact, that was her number one. It crept her out to no end. Mostly because he was a Spirit and he looked creepy enough in the first place. Most of his features, she realized with an amused smirk, were covered by a black cloak. All she could see was his white skin, ominous smile, and hollow navy blue eyes.

"What's with the get up? No leather pants?" Hiver only laughed at her comments lightly, but kept his mouth smiling with no answer. Eventually, which was a very short amount of time, she became sick of his smile.

"Seriously, stop smiling at me and tell me what you want so I don't have to see your ugly mug for longer than necessary!" He obviously missed the insult aimed at his looks.

"I've been waiting a long time for this day. There's finally going to be some initial change." She only looked up at him in confusion, which led to frustration.

"Give up the dramatic crap and get this over with." Deciding he was going to be cryptic, she took off to the kitchen to make lunch, with the floating Spirit behind her.

"Impatient as usually." Hiver commented dryly. He stopped her and pressed a small bag into her hand. She knew what it was and didn't bother opening it. He also passed her two sheaths, both with blades in them. This is what she really wanted. She had smashed her last two and was in dire need of replacements. "You're payment." He stated. His smile had grown in size. Just when she thought it impossible too. "I believe you'll find they're more than suitable." She set the medium sized blades aside, on the wooden kitchen counter, with the small pouch. She stared intently at the Spirit who stared back with a blank, almost stupid look.

"This isn't what you're here for, now is it? You're late, so you have news or something I'm going to regret asking about." Hiver's smile had widened again. She had hit the nail on the head.

"I guess you won't like it. I actually have another… _request _for you." She didn't look happy. In fact, she looked down right angry. "Now, now. Don't go bursting at the seems. This is very important. So far I've only sent you on small assassination missions compared to this. This is the single most impo-"

"Whatever. Not interested." She walked away only to find the Spirit in her path. She glared in annoyance. Mostly because he still wore that awful grin. "Go away. I'm going back to bed."

"Really Mio? Are you going to be stubborn?" She didn't look any happier as she nodded. At least she seemed to be listening to what he was saying. "You want a bribe don't you?" A quick emotion change and she was smirking. She was known for her stubbornness, and could be quite the barterer. "Fine, but you can't make any suggestions. What I say goes."

"Whatever." Mio flopped into a kitchen chair, and motioned her hands in a 'Go on' motion. Hiver didn't sit; he simply continued to float on the same spot. The cloak he wore would flutter every now and then due to a non-existent wind.

"Lets see. I'm willing to offer paying for whatever home you wish to live in, along with living expenses." Now she was interested. He had never made an offer near this magnitude before. With her eyebrow raised she leaned forward to hear better. It was more out of habit. Her hearing was more than good enough to hear his low voice. "What else. Ah! This little bag here." Hiver held out his hand. Fabric twisted and mended until it formed a square leather pouch. Mio was hesitant to take it. It was light. It felt like she was holding a feather. "It's called a Kokiri pouch. It's a, well in simple terms, it's a magical bag. It can hold a good amount of items no matter the size or weight. When in the pouch the items don't weigh a thing. It does have a limit though. Try to keep it under 500 pounds or so. It won't hold anything over that." Magic? He's never _ever _offered something like this. She knew such things existed, but…

"Anything else?" Honestly, she was ready to go with what she had already, but she wanted to get every last drop out of him. He owed her that much.

"Aren't you pushy… Fine let me think. Did I mention that living costs include clothing and personal items?" Mio rolled her wrist in a continuing motion. "Hmm. Oh! A horse!"

"What? Why the hell would I need a horse in the middle of Tokyo? No wait, better question, have you finally lost it? Where in Tokyo would I be able to keep a horse?" Hiver gave her one of the giddiest looks she'd ever seen from him. If she wasn't suspicious before, she was now.

"It doesn't matter right now. Do we have a deal?"

"No. I have no idea what the other end of this is. Do you take me for an idiot?"

"Of course not! I was just wondering if you even cared." She gave him a grouchy look. Clearly, she wasn't willing to jump into this head first. The last time she did she ended up in Bermuda, looking for 20 separate drug co-operations, in skin-splitting heat. Just thinking about it made her sick.

"Spit it out old fart." Hiver didn't appreciate Mio's tone.

"I need you to go to Hyrule. It's a large island in the south pacific. It's top secret and is blanketed by layers upon layers of barriers. You'll be brought there be helicopter; don't worry I remember how sick you get on boats. You'll be brought straight to the castle.

"I'd like it if you kept in mind that Hyrule is very isolated. It is behind in technology, so don't expect your stay to be like a vacation. Also, their second language is English so you should be able to communicate with the majority of the citizens.

"While you're their you'll have two responsibilities. You are to teach the princess to better rule her lands with your knowledge of this lands rulings. Your second is even more important. There is a young man, very close to the princess. He is her protector, but is lacking in skill. His story is a long one you'll learn eventually. I need you to train him as much as you can.

"Once on the island I will not let you off unless it's an emergency. Understood?"

"If I say no?"

"I'll knock you out and you'll wake up on the island anyway. Sans benefits. I'm sorry, but I must enforce this." Mio looked at him in near shock. Never in her life had he threatened her for not accepting a mission. She knew he meant it. She was stuck, and she hated it. In her mind she change her tactics from saying no to the faster she got it done she could return home.

"Lilac is pushing you, huh?"

"No. Jonquil is. She's been assigned to this world, and wants to make sure Hyrule has at least one noble fighter." Silence filled the room. She couldn't get out of this one. She was screwed.

"Fine. So long as I get to keep the bribe."

"Of course. You'll leave tomorrow."

She was out to kill him and he knew it. Left and right, she sent hi scurrying about Castletown making deliveries and promises, and everything in between. She had been pushing him to work harder that usual, prompting him to question her intentions. He was exhausted, to the point where he was dragging his sorry, tired ass around the castle without bothering to try and cover it up. Of course, her highness didn't notice at all. When he met her in the throne room she smiled kindly. That was probably her most beautiful feature.

"How may I serve you m'lady?" He asked, kneeled before her. Now he was trying to hide his tiredness. He didn't want to show too much weakness in front of the princess. The princess on the other hand suddenly looked panicky. Her hair was astray. It was unusual for her to look so improper. She was almost frantic. Her small, delicate, gloved fingers were worrying her intricate silk dress.

"You'll never believe it…" She said in a whisper with her head bowed. "Someone was looking for you, but he wasn't… a person. I don't know why he came to me, but he demanded that I was the one that had to tell you what he had to say." Someone had breached the castle's security?

He took in his surroundings. The throne room was empty besides the presence of him and the princess. The tall white walls weren't lined with guards as usual. It was obvious that she had prepared for this and that she had gone to some lengths to have her guards leave her for only a few moments. He got to his feet and approached the princess with caution. He didn't say a word when he stopped to stand in front of her. He waited until she spoke on her own.

"He was very calm, never raised his voice, but he wasn't human. I couldn't see what he looked like, he wore a black cloak to cover his face, but he was _floating_. I didn't know what to do, so I just stood there and listened. I don't know why I had to be the one to tell you, but he kept insisting." She was looking directly at him now, but he kept quiet. "He said to be ready. That in a day or twos time someone will be coming to help you. He didn't say who or why or with what. That was all he said. I don't understand. What's going to happen Link?" He had no answer. He knew nothing more than she did. She sighed and looked down. She knew there was nothing he could do about this. She must have stayed quiet too long since he put himself through enough trouble as to speak.

"Zelda?" She looked up at him. His bright blue eyes were tired. With his shoulders slumped and his bright blond hair dishevelled he still managed to look aware and courageous. The news must have devastated him, she told herself.

"You should rest for now. After all, you should be here when your guests arrives." He had nothing to say for that. Guest? Whoever it was wasn't invited. What if this entire thing was a trap? But, had it been, the non-man Zelda mentioned could have easily done anything himself. No, he was too tired to think about this now. What with running about and this… peculiar news, he didn't have the right mindset to think it through thoroughly enough.

Without a word Link bowed and left. He had a home on the outskirts of Castletown. He calculated that he should make it there before he collapsed.


	3. Chapter 02

Legends: Chapter Two

There had to be a hoard of people shouting outside his window. There was only one word he could clearly make out, and that was his name. Every few seconds or so somebody managed to yell it louder than the rest of the clatter outside. Didn't those people have any decency to let him sleep? His two day "vacation" hadn't been enough to satisfy his tired body.

The noise of the crowd was overwhelmed by something new. He couldn't identify it but it was loud enough to shake his house and scare him from his comfortable bed. It only got louder, but it was fading away in no time.

He rushed through the front door, powered by adrenaline, ignoring the frantic cries from the anxious crowd. He searched thoroughly for the source of the sound but came up short. With one last place to look Link peered skyward.

There were no words to describe the metal contraption above. In Link's mind there was but one: Monster. Without a second thought he bounded through the crowd. From what he tell, it was headed toward Castletown.

There was no silence when the engine cut. She could hear the worried voices wondering what was going to happen next. Mio was proud of her first impression. Striking fear into hearts was usually what she was supposed to do. Grabbing her extra luggage she saluted her pilot then pushed the door open. There were less people than expected, not by much, but they were of no concern to her. She had a princess to find. If she could get a hold of her, her little minion was sure to be nearby.

"Oi! Shush!" The crowd, startled by her appearance and shouting, dwindled in noise. Mio jumped out of her ride and plopped her luggage beside her. "Any of you speak English?" A few nodded. Others gave her a simple yes. She got a kick from those who gave her an odd look. Whether they understood her or not she figured it was because of her accent. "Where's the princess?" The crowd went into an uproar. _Fine__…__ make this difficult_. Mio grabbed the nearest person by the arm. He was taller than her, like everyone else, no older than twenty.

"Please don't hurt me!"

"I won't so long as you bring me to the princess." At this point the group of people had noticed her aggressive actions and were backing away. The boy she was manhandling gave a slight whimper. The people here, she figured, were cowards. Still, the man she held onto to was considering it. He must have held some respect for their princess. He never answered her. Instead her bullying was interrupted.

"What business could you possibly have with the princess?" He was no older than her, and _at least _taller by no less than a foot. His blond hair was dishevelled, and so were what appeared to be black pyjamas. Brown boots poked out from under his black pants. What caught her attention were his eyes. To contradict his messy attire, his bold blue eyes were awake, aware, and scrutinizing. She knew who he was immediately.

"You're the princess' lackey, am I not correct?" He must not have liked her choice of words because his cerulean eyes narrowed dangerously. She had insulted his pride. The crowd had quieted when he arrived, but not quite enough. They were now alive with whispers about her rudeness. Rudeness? They haven't seen anything yet.

"I'm her guard. Not a lackey. Now answer my question." Mio had only been here a rough ten minutes and already she had a deep nerve with this guy. If this was really the one she had to train she was at least going to have fun with it.

"I don't know. You kinda look like a lackey. You're too scrawny to be a body guard." He tried to keep a calm demeanour but something must have slipped because she laughed.

"Fine. Call me what you will. Answer my question." She smirked at him. He found himself hating it. She was too smug to be much of a threat in his mind. He was wrong. While he stood there, slightly lost in thought, she had landed a clear, dirty punch on his lower left jaw. As he stumbled backward he heard the crowd of surrounding castle inhabitants gasp as one. He stared at her, shocked. That had hurt. She crouched, feet separated. Her hands outstretched and bent beside each side of her chest. Instead of forming fists she held her palms out toward him, fingers straight upward and pinned together. Did she expect to fight him like that? It seemed like a ridiculous thought, since the stance was all wrong. Her smirk, which had widened, spoke volumes as she dared him silently to strike back. He could not. He would not hit a girl.

"Come on, are you just gonna stand there with your mouth open, ilackey/i?" The last word was filled with false honey. He shook his head after shutting his mouth. "Suit yourself." She stated before lunging at him. He dodged her first strike on instinct, but she was quicker than him. As he moved out of her way she got even lower to the ground, pressed her hands into the moist grass and swiped her leg at him. It connected this time, and he found himself flat on his back staring at the lightening sky. Pain radiated from his legs and his head where it had made contact with the hard ground. He felt pressure on his chest and he gradually lifted his head to find the girl sitting, legs crossed, on his upper body. He moved his arms in an attempt to push her off, but both arms were caught by the wrist in her small, almost delicate hands. He twisted his body in a feeble attempt to get loose but the girl was strong for her petite size.

"Now that I have your undivided attention, I won't be answering any of _your _questions." She looked away from him to stare threateningly at the crowd. They didn't budge. They weren't going to help the poor lackey. "I ask the questions, understood?" The girl looked down at him. Her grey-blue eyes were more blue than grey as they sparkled with a mischievous mirth. Begrudgingly he nodded. Her smirk widened into a sneer, and it bugged him. "Good. Now where is the princess, or will I have to start hitting you?" What did she mean start? She had already hit him twice, and the pain was still lingering. He struggled again but stopped when she slapped him with his own hand. "Come on now, be a good sport. I promise, I won't hurt her."

"Did you just hit me with my own hand?" He managed to crook his head to one side.

"Yes, and you will continue to hit yourself if you don't start cooperating." A moment passed as the blond boy thought it over. He took too long, for she had very little patience. His hand collided with his cheek and he yelled a short 'ow'.

"Stop that!"

"No!"

"Will you get off of me if I take you to her?"

"Yes."

"And you won't hurt her?"

"No, I won't, but you're still at risk."

"Fine. As long as she's fine." The girl let go of his arms and stood. He followed her lead and dusted himself off. He noted how his head hurt more when he stood upright.

"Tool." The girl muttered under her breath. He ignored her.

Only a few moments from the princess he decided he didn't trust her. She was rude, arrogant, and much too strong for his liking. She could easily hurt the princess if she liked. Even with him to defend her. Then again, he hadn't really tried to fend her off. He concluded to take action. He leapt at her from behind while she made another stop to browse the art on the wall. As he attempted to knock her off her feet, he realized too late he was going to ultimately fail. As if she had eyes in the back of her head she had seen him coming. She ducked away from the arms trying to grab her and his hands held tightly to thin air. She must not have like the thought of his assault because as he loomed above her she stood again and grabbed his shirt from behind her, and hoisted him over her and onto the hard marble floor in front of her. Even with the new additions of pain he stared up at the smirking girl in astonishment. How had someone so small and so much shorter than him been able to toss him over their shoulder with such ease?

"Nice try." She chided.

If he didn't feel like an idiot for losing to a girl twice, than he certainly felt like an idiot now. But on the other hand it wasn't his fault. She could have told him who she was, but no. She just waltzed in as if she owned the place. Now Zelda was upset with him. This was off to a rocky start. This girl, who had introduced herself as Mio when confronted by the princess, was the one Zelda said would be coming to help him. Mio stated that she was here to train him and help Zelda further developed Hyrule.

For the rest of the morning the two females chatted in private. He decided, an hour into being locked out of the room, to go home, eat, and change out of his sleeping clothes. By the time he returned the two were done chatting. And he had been assigned tour guide for the day.

Now he was stuck with a stranger roaming the streets of Castletown. They had walked for what seemed like hours in silence, but the sun had barely moved since noon. The silence was becoming uncomfortable, even with the bustling marketplace around them. Normally he was a quiet man, but her silence was suffocating him. He decided to ask a few questions.

"Your name is Mio right?" She nodded. They had stopped at a clothing stall. Mio had a finger on her chin as she inspected the clothes. It was only now that he noticed the difference between styles. She wore light blue pants that had a certain texture to them and a plain grey sweater that covered her arms, but showed a small expanse of her collar bone. Even her footwear was odd. They looked like leather but didn't look like leather. They were an odd mixture of colors, vibrant pink and yellow that wasn't typically found in clothing. She appeared to be scrutinizing the clothing difference as well. "And you were sent to help Hyrule?" She looked away from the roadside stall in order to glare at him.

"Are you deaf? That's what I told the princess and that's what she told you. You'd think with those ears of yours you'd be able to hear."

Link felt his ears grow red. He had always been sensitive when it came to his ears. They were considerable longer than everyone else's. "My ears aren't that big, and I did hear. I'm just making sure."

"For a lackey you sure can bitch back." She had gone back to browsing and ignoring him. He decided not to further the argument.

"That _thing _you arrived with. What was that?" Once again torn from her browsing she stared down the long eared boy. It took a short moment for her to decided what to say.

"I'll make a deal with you. If you ask a question I'll answer it, so long as you answer one of my questions. Deal?" He nodded. What harm could it do? "It's called a helicopter. It's a machine created for air transportation, and in other situations, war. How's it that you guys know English?"

"A long time ago a few sailboats crashed into the shore. They had several things on board like books. There was two survivors who taught us their language, which turned out to be English. That was maybe two, three, hundred years ago. It's changed a bit since. Is English your native language?"

"Where I'm from the world is a _smaller _place. Compared geographically, Hyrule is extremely small to the rest of the world. Being where I'm from you can pick up a lot of languages, but no, English isn't my native language. I learned English only a few years ago as my third. Japanese and Mandarin are my first and second languages." Link was tempted to ask another few questions. He had always been the type to want to venture. Luckily she continued to talk about the subject. "English is the world's most renowned language. It shouldn't surprise me that it made it's way to an unknown country." She stopped herself to stare at something he couldn't find. He knew he shouldn't interrupt cause she'd get lippy. He managed to follow her gaze to the caged birds. He waited for her to voice her thoughts. "Why are those chickens so big!" She stared at the birds that had caught her full attention with wide eyes. He qualified that as her question.

"Those are cuckoos. I'm guessing where you're from they're called chickens. They can get out of hand sometimes."

"I didn't ask what they are, I asked why they are so big." He almost felt like walking away. She wasn't easy to get along with, and it was becoming more and more evident with every passing minute.

"They just are." Came the simple, yet discouraging reply. Mio scoffed at him. "How many languages are there?"

"Considering there are over two hundred countries and the year is 2009, the world has developed a lot as well. I'd say roughly over 2000 languages. I'm not sure though..." She must have caught his astounded look or else she wouldn't have added, "We don't use all of them. A lot of them aren't spoken any more." They had neared the flower shop at this point. A couple stood at the stall. Curled into each other as the boy purchased a bouquet, and the man handed over a few shiny, green gems. A thought struck her. This land was untouched, innocent. No doubt it's resources were nearly endless. "What's the currency here?" She asked, eyes still glued to the stall. The couple left, smiling as they continued on with their day.

"Rupees. Why?" Damn, that's going to count as his turn, isn't it...

"For a moment let's break out little deal. This is important. Do you have any on you?" She looked at him now. She looked serious, as if he might have some valuable information that could save the world.

"Yes." He answered bluntly. They stood around like dolts for a moment. Her expression slowly changed from serious to unimpressed.

"Can I _see _it?" She asked impatiently. He stalled, but silently obeyed. He pulled a fairly large, glistening, green gem from a pouch in his shirt and handed it over. It was sort of light for it's size and it was cool to the touch. "And these are called Rupees?"

Link nodded. "That's only worth one."

"How much would a meal cost?"

"Maybe thirty. It depends on what you get." Eyes wide, mouth gaping, she stared at him like a drowning fish. "Why? Is that a lot where you're from?" She shook her head. "Expensive?" She shut her mouth with the click of her teeth.

"Well, I'm not sure, but if this is what I think this is... I shouldn't get ahead of myself. Can I keep this?" He made some kind of noise similar to pfft. She felt insulted.

"Go ahead it's only worth one Rupee." Mio gave him the drowning fish face again, but quickly recovered. She must really like fish…

The rest of the day went by with rotational questioning. Mio had learned Hyrule wasn't completely in the dark. They at least had a less technological version of plumbing. It was better than peeing a jar that stayed under the bed. Also, the furniture in the castle was high quality just like everything in Castletown. Her "little buddy" had taken in more information about the world than the princess had, but not nearly enough. All he questioned was what it was like, but she knew descriptions weren't enough. She didn't even have a map on her.

Finally she had settled into her guest room for the night. She never got to lay down as the princess invited herself in. She had what seemed to be a night gown on. Her light blond hair was loose and cascaded over her shoulder. Her fair face greeted her with a gentle smile. Mio frowned.

"Ever hear of knocking?" Mio asked from in front of her bed. It was calling her name.

"Please, excuse my intrusion. May I ask of a few things." She was tempted to say no and kick her out, but that would be neglecting duty. Slowly she wadded her way over to the princess who had committed a security breech.

"Go for it."

"I only have two. It won't take too long."

"_Go for it_." Mio repeated, annoyance seeping into her voice.

"What are you here to help Link with? What could possibly happen? Hyrule has been peaceful for the last century."

"I don't know any more than you do about the situation. All I know is this is what I'm supposed to be doing."

Zelda shifted. Her features were easy to make out in the candle lit room. Blue eyes shined with a peculiar curiosity at deep grey-blue sleepy orbs.

"Could I visit your country? I'd like to see how they rule elsewhere."

"I'll consider it. Goodnight." Mio pulled the blankets back on her bed. She said it more or less to get Zelda out. She was done with the princess, with everything at this point. She was tired.

"One more thing." Zelda warned with her back turned to Mio. "Don't get too close to Link."

"I didn't plan on it. Mio muttered as Zelda left, shutting the door behind her. "I don't have a thing for lackeys.


	4. Chapter 03

Legends: Chapter Three

She was in over her head. Way over her head. There was so much to be done on both ends of her deals. Mio literally had no where to start. She felt like pounding her head against a brick wall for letting Hiver talk her into this one.

When the princess said Hyrule had been in a time of peace for a century she had been wrong. It had been two centuries since any type if war had broken out. These people knew _nothing_ about hardships. Running out of milk was a tragedy to them. Their leader didn't tax them much, there was no need for an actual army, or a huge demand for anything. All of Hyrule's soldiers were volunteers, untrained volunteers. There was no ranking system. They were simply labelled soldiers. On the other hand, the people were happy. The majority of the people had sufficient food and shelter. It's population was balanced. But they were vulnerable and weak.

As for Link, well, he was an easier task, or so she assumed. Combat was what she was good at after all. Mio was wrong. He may be quiet and polite, but Link was overly stubborn. Throughout the first week she had spent in Hyrule he was reluctant to listen to her. Link had a pride problem. Not that Mio could entirely blame him. After what she'd seen of the soldiers, Link appeared to be the only person with an ounce of talent.

Not only were her tasks being difficult, but so were the castle inhabitants. They weren't outright rude about her behind her back, but she could easily hear them. She was, after all, half-elf. They got on her nerves though. The servants truly loved explaining to the less intelligent staff that she was a foreigner. If she could choose between being feared or pried at, Mio rather be feared. That way she could get some peace and quiet, away from the questioning servants.

Another thing she learned was that Hyrule's native language was a tad complex. Both Link and Zelda had tried to explain the basics to her, but it only ended miserably. When they figured she'd given up they asked about her native tongue, Japanese. It only ended the same way as her Hylian lessons.

Now she sat under a shady tree, one she had become accustom to. She had always enjoyed nature. There was very little left in Tokyo. A summer breeze bristled it's vibrant green leaves and Mio sighed in relaxation. Truthfully this island was relaxing. She might even miss it. They were, as far as Mio knew, somewhere in the castle gardens. Link was not far in a clearing, attempting to show her how to properly hold a sword. There was only two problems with that. One; she already knew how to wield a sword. Two; he was doing it wrong. He was only using one hand, which was a no-no when using a long sword. She could see the physical strain in his wrist, and she knew she'd hear his complaints later on. It didn't help that there was no grace or balance to his wild swinging. If only he'd listen... Mio knew there was potential. He has the very basics, also known as muscle. Although, it wasn't quite enough. She just had to do some tweaking.

"Link!" He looked at her as if he meant to ask what she wanted but stayed silent. "You're doing it wrong!" Now he just looked annoyed. He walked over to her. The grass beneath his feet silenced his movements, or did he have a grace she was unaware of? He watched Mio stand in one fluid movement. She mentally noted how short she was compared to him, and hated it. The top of her head just managed beneath his chin.

"How am I doing it wrong? I've always fought like this."

"Explains how I beat you so easily when I first got here." He muttered something and she asked him to speak up, if only to embarrass him. Link dug the sword into the earth and crossed his arms over his chest, a stance Mio came to know as a form of stubbornness. He wasn't going to speak up for her. She answered his earlier question thoroughly instead of chiding him on.

"Because you're fumbling around, there is no balance when you keep your feet together, and the sword is way too heavy for you, so you shouldn't use only one hand. In Layman's terms, you're doing it wrong." Link scoffed at her. He didn't know who Layman was, but he could stuff it for all he cared. He was so sick of her bossiness. From what he had heard Mio lived in a world of unspoken luxury. What could she possibly know about fighting? She didn't seem to like his attitude. "Fine. Be that way. Just know that one way or another you will listen to my advice. Whether I have to beat it into you or not." He had tried his best to explain to her that he didn't want to hurt her, and that's why he seemed so weak to her, but he knew to keep his mouth shut when she was threatening. Mio got a large amount of joy from beating the crap out of him. "Give me that." Mio didn't wait for him to respond. She plucked the long sword out of the ground. It was surprising light, but completely off balance. She scrutinized it. Up close it looked like it had a brass undertone. "Link, what is this made of?"

"Copper, iron, and wood for the handle. The princess gave it to me." The fish face resurfaced. "What is it now?" Honestly, Mio must have never seen a sword before.

"Copper? Seriously? No, you don't realize the danger you're putting yourself in. If you're going to use a sword make sure it's steel, or something stronger."

"What's wrong with mine?" Link interrupted. For once she didn't snap at him for the intrusion. Instead she handed him the unbalanced sword.

"Hold that up like you're going to block." He did as told while Mio fetched one of her blades she left under her tree, sheathed. Link had never seen her use the curbed twin bladed. In fact, all she's done was instruct him from the sidelines.

"You're holding it wrong." She said when she returned. She almost looked tired. "Stop holding it with one hand. If I swung at you while you tried blocking like that, I'd break your wrist. Next time I'm not correcting you. Maybe a little pain will knock some sense into you." Mio unsheathed the sword she took with her and chucked the sheath to the side. He had never heard quite a sound like that come from a sheath. Nor had he seen such a untouched or proper blade. She noticed his gawking. "Shut your mouth and copy my stance." His mouth snapped shut with a sounding click. She was holding the hilt with both hands and held her blade at an angle, with her elbows bent and muscles tensed. Her feet were separate for balance. He tried his best to copy her, if only to humour the shorty, but something felt off. Mio found the wrong. "You're left handed, aren't you? Lean the sword the other way, and scuffle your feet so that your right foot is behind you and your left in front." He did as told and automatically felt the difference. "Now don't move, and brace yourself, so you won't fall over or let go of the sword."

Her right hand swiped forward, grasping her smaller blade with an air of confidence. A small shockwave resonated through his arms, but it didn't last. Almost like a delayed reaction his sword split through the middle and the dismembered piece sunk itself into the ground somewhere to his left. The metallic ringing of the contact between swords died out when Link realized what Mio had done.

"How..."

"Simple. My sword, although smaller, is stronger. Its a steel-titanium mix. Your sword is weak. Copper is a soft material, and iron is out of date. Now imagine I was an enemy. What would you do next?" He had no answer. At least he was listening. "Exactly. What _could _you do? Don't worry about the sword. I have a contact that can get a replacement."

"That was a gift." He looked at her sternly. Mio didn't appear to care.

"You win some, you lose some. Get over it. Now I know we've had a rough start," she had already walked over to her discarded sheath and hid her blade from view. "And you are _very _stubborn." Mio turned to face him. "The princess asked something of me last week. She wants to go to Japan. I haven't accepted yet. I've tried almost everything to make you listen. So stubborn... I want to make another deal with you. If you could just cooperate for two months, maybe make a little progress, and I'll give Zelda what she wants. What do you say?"

"Is that a threat or a deal?" She cocked her head to the side but stayed silent. "It sounds like you're trying to use me, because either way you win. If I agree you get to basically torture me for two months. If I don't listen, you tell Zelda no and I'm to blame, keeping your slate clean."

"Oh, so you can think for yourself, lackey. Or are you going to agree for Zelda's sake?" She was frustrating. How dare she be so demanding? Still, she had him cornered. He forced himself to nod.

"Yes, you have an independent mind, or are you a lackey?" That damn smirk returned.

"Yes, I'm agreeing on the princess' behalf." He tried his best to fill every word to the brim with venom. "Stop calling me lackey." She only laughed at him and left. Once left alone he let out his over abundance of frustration by throwing the handle left over from his sword to the ground.

"Big enough order?"

"I'm not aloud leaving, remember? I can't get these things myself." Mio leaned against the jet black helicopter. Her pilot was being a smart-ass. His argument was that he wasn't an errand boy. "I only need a few things."

"Fine, fine. Let me write these things down. My memory isn't that great." After finding a notepad and pencil somewhere in the helicopter, he began listing the things he remembered. "You want me to test the rupee at a jeweller, get a few long swords... You said you had a contact, what was the address?" Mio wrote it for him. "And you said you wanted, I quote, 'a shit load' of ramen, and painting supplies. I can't help but feel like I'm forgetting something..."

"Clothing, some udon, and I forgot my gloves. They're on my drawer by my bed." Mio watch as a few castle inhabitants gathered not far from the aircraft. They were cautious but it seemed their curiosity was stronger. She had seen them lingering around the helicopter often, but never went within twenty feet of it. "You should get going."

"Yeah, yeah. I'll be back by late evening tomorrow."

"And don't go lingering in my house. If there's anything out of place, you'll regret it."

He felt like knocking himself out. Correction, after correction, after correction. Mio was too picky. Hours after his agreement, well into the evening, she decided to take advantage of their deal. She said sword play was well out of reach and that she would start with something simple; posture. Mio was trying to 'correct' his posture. What could that possibly have to do with fighting? From sitting to standing she found the smallest things to pick at. Silently he endured it. For Zelda.

The picking and correcting went on for hours. To Link it felt like eternity. In the end, when he finally got it right, Mio dismissed him with a sigh. Although frustrated, to him the sigh sounded like a goddess send. He could go home. At least, that's what he had hoped to do.

Half-way through the front courtyard he was stopped by a servant. A servant that didn't have easy-going news. Apparently the princess had taken on the task of moving him into the castle, and gave her servants the liberty of going to his home and move his possessions into the castle. Zelda's excuse: she felt safer with him around. Although flattering, the question was what did she feel threatened by?

And so he found himself only three doors down from the main chamber in what used to be an old study. His cleanly belongings didn't quite fit in with the old dusty books. When was the last time this place had been cleaned? At least he'd always have something to read...

In fact, that was the only upside. Link was rather independent, and, as Mio so easily pointed out, stubborn. He wouldn't get to cook for himself, there would be no peace, and being only three doors down from the princess, he would be at Zelda's every beck and call.

Link was suddenly exhausted. He didn't want to be here, but he couldn't disobey Zelda. He owed her. Not bothering to undress he flopped unceremoniously onto his bed and tried to sleep. He couldn't. The room was foreign and he couldn't get comfy. Link toss and turned until morning crept into his only window.

Mio shook her head disapprovingly. Were all Hylians this out of shape, or just Link? She had given up on proper posture hours ago and moved onto something that would, hopefully, be more productive. Link had this thing where he liked to prove her wrong. It was getting on her nerves.

"I don't know how you're screwing this up. I mean, I'm not making you do rocket science!" He looked up at her with confused blue eyes. Sometime in the process he had lost his long green hat and his hair had become a jumbled, blond mess. "All I'm asking is for you to do is balance yourself on a log using only one leg to stand. And still, you've fallen at least eight times!"

"Six." He muttered in correction.

"Whatever. Someone the age of twelve can do this." He continued to sit there on the warm summer grass. He stared at the ground unhappily. He almost had the desire to tell the foreigner off, but his tired mind made enough sense to state that she'd take away the princess' privileges.

"I'm sorry, but I can't really do anything. I'm tired, and sore. My patience are nearly non-existent."

"No excuses." Now he really wanted to tell her off. He looked up at her to do just that when he noticed how serious she was. "Do you think your foe will just forfeit because you're tired? No! They'll cut you down!"

"What foe? What part of 'time of peace' don't you understand?"

"I'm sorry for doing what I was sent to do. I hate to burst your bubble but peace doesn't last forever. It's called a _time _of peace for a reason. _Time _runs out, so you have to be prepared when it does." Mio crouched to his level. She met his stare with a stormy blue gaze. "From what I've seen of Hyrule's soldiers, this land is unprotected. To be completely honest, you're the closet thing I've seen to talent and discipline, and I won't let it go to waste." Now he was on edge.

"This isn't like you. For the past week or so I've been called a lackey. What's with the praise all of a sudden?"

"It's not praise. It's the truth. Where I'm from honesty isn't an attribute it's a godsend. Honest people are hard to find, and I pride myself in being honest with people. I can't stand people who delve into lying to themselves when the truth is staring them in the face.

"This country is still so untouched, nothing like Japan, or any other country I know. If word ever gets out about this land, which I hope _never _happens, Hyrule will stand no chance. But it's not the rest of the world you have to worry about. Something is wrong in Hyrule, I can almost taste it. Ever get the feeling someone's watching you?" Link nodded. It wasn't just him then. "Just let me help. The sooner you do, the sooner I'll be out of your hair." He sighed and rubbed his face with his palms. Her logic was right, but what were the chances of something happening? Thinking back to what Zelda said about the cloaked figure, it suddenly occurred to him that maybe the chances were higher than first thought. Like Mio had mentioned, he felt like someone was studying his every move, and he had a feeling it wasn't his tyrannical mentor.

"It's just that I didn't sleep well last night, and I guess I agree with you. Don't you think it would be more efficient to train the soldiers? What could I possibly do alone?"

"Don't ask me that. I'm only here because it's my duty to be here. I suggest we at least _try _to get along until we get this over with. Then you can hate me all you like." Link nodded in agreement. In his mind he'd do it for Hyrule. "Alright. Now get back on the log and put a little effort into your balance. It'd be nice to get past basics." Mio's cocky tone had returned. She must have been sick of civil conversation. He got up like he was told. He didn't feel any annoyance toward her for the sudden change in speech. So long he knew her motives, he'd put up.

"Wow. You managed to get everything. I'm impressed."

"The swords were a bit of a hassle. It took some convincing to prove I knew you and that you sent me. Said something about me being too sociable for your tastes." Her pilot rubbed the back of his head, messing up his near black hair. It was just long enough to make a mess with.

"Not bad. You did good..." She realized she didn't know her own pilot's name. "What's your name?"

"I told you on the way here... It's Kenta."

"Okay, okay. Don't go stressing over this. I'll try to remember." Mio leaned against the helicopter door. It was well into supper in the castle so it was relatively quiet. The swarm of servants didn't even appear when the helicopter came in for landing. It was just her and her pilot.

"The rupee... What is it made from?"

"Like you guessed, it's made of emerald. At least, a rough ninety percent of it."

"Amazing. This place is a miner's heaven." Mio paused then stared her pilot in the eye. "Don't tell _anyone _about this place, or I'll slit your throat myself. Understood?"

"I swear by the Spirits I won't."

"Good. Then Hyrule's secret rest with us only


	5. Chapter 04

Legends: Chapter Four

He felt like he might explode. That his skull would burst open and that every foul word he knew would spill over in an incoherent jumble. In it's place Link let out a frustrated groan. His calming methods weren't working. He'd gone so far as his final resort; meditating in the middle of the forest. It wasn't working. His civil mind was clouded by a curtain of rage. How dare she?

She was unbearable. Ever since her civil speech he'd expected an improvement in her attitude towards him. No, she got worse. She was pushing his limits in nearly every sense. He was almost tempted to give up, but then, what would Zelda or the soldiers think? They'd think him a coward.

He'd come to the forest an hour or so ago, sometime early in the morning. The sun was now high in the sky, not nearly mid-day. The clear air should have been refreshing, relaxing even. It should have calmed him to the bone like it usually did. There was little to no effect. He knew it wasn't like him to get angry, but Mio had a way of picking him apart, of finding every little thing that bothered him, and poking his rational mind with a sharpened stick until it turned feral. She was what he thought he'd never think of another person, unbearable. In fact, he couldn't remember why he was so furious. It was frustrating, like looking for something you had seen but couldn't find for the sake of oneself.

Link was finished with sitting around and doing nothing. He certainly wasn't meditating. He decided after a long silent moment that a walk was sure to calm his nerves. For the first moment or so the steady pace forward seemed to be working its magic. He had always been enchanted by the woods. It had a charisma of its own. The way the wind blew through the trees was almost like poetry. The leaf covered dirt floor was more comforting than any red carpet, or marble flooring. The sound produced under his feet every time he took a step was like a symphony of sorts, telling its story as steadily as he walked. The basswood trees surrounding him insured his security. Here and there larger trees reached to the sky, blocking the warmth of the sun with pleasant pockets of shade. The air smelled of nature, something he'd never be able to live without. Link was finally at peace.

"Hey!" Link was snapped out of his reverie much too early. He noted he had stopped walking, but knew exactly where he was. He also noted that what kicked him out of his happy place was a painfully high pitched voice, calling out from somewhere behind him. He ignored it and tried his best to slip back into a peaceful state. After all he was just beginning to hear his rational thoughts again. "Listen! Hey!" The tranquility was lost. The voice was closer and he whipped his head to the right to find it's source.

"What?" He sounded more irate than he felt. Some of the earlier frustration must still be left over.

A little blue orb, small enough to fit in the palm of his hand, bounced up and down in front of him. It's near transparent wings would beat every now and again to keep it from plummeting to the forest floor. If Link tried hard enough he could see a small figure through the strong blue glow. It was a fairy.

"It's you! I finally found you!" The faerie exclaimed. She proceeded to bounce again, this time more capriciously. She then circled in some sort of victorious manner.

"I'm sorry. Do I know you?"

"Of course you do!" She ceased her bouncing and floated soundly in front of his face. She was so small. "It's me, Navi!"

The name sounded familiar, like he'd heard it somewhere before. He was positive he hadn't. He'd never met a fairy before, they were so rare these days. Many believed them to be extinct.

"I'm sorry, but you must have the wrong person."

"Nope! You're definitely Link!" He found it somewhat unfair that she knew him, but he had not a clue who she was. Maybe she was some sort of stalker... That didn't sound reassuring. He looked at her now with a suspicious stare. He only got the impression that she was smiling at him.

"Yes, I'm Link, but I still don't know you." Now he was sure she was frowning. Her wings flattened like the ears of a puppy's when they realize they forgot where they buried their new bone. The wings perked up and twitched when she began to fall.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"Really sure?"

"Yes." Link fought back the urge to roll his eyes. He could see clearly where this was going.

"_Really, really-"_

"Yes."

"Well, maybe you'll remember later?"

"Listen, I really, honestly, have no idea who you are. I've never met you in my life. I'm sorry, but you have the wrong guy." Link turned in the direction he had come in. The sun had barely moved from it's noon position.

"But... C-can I at least come with you?" Navi had caught up with him in a heartbeat and followed him at the same pace. "I have no where else to go." Her pleading tone was almost enough to convince him to let her come with. Then he remembered he had no idea who she was.

"Where did you stay before now?"

"I was looking for you."

"I'm not who-"

"I'm not who-"

"_Pleeeeeeeeeaase_!"

"Fine." He knew if he said no she would follow anyway. Navi gave a small 'yay' and flew under

his long green hat.

"Hey! Out of there!"

"_Pleeeeeeeeeaase_!"

"Oh, fine!" Somehow, he knew arguing would get him no where.

The castle was in chaos. Servants scrambled needlessly and not a single soldier was in sight. As if sensing it, Navi had scrambled away. He couldn't help but feel a sense of loss, but ignored it. No one seemed to notice him as he made his way through the disordered sea of people that congested the halls. They grabbed and pulled at him, but their jumbled shouts made no sense. _What in the world got them so worked up? _No one had a coherent answer, so he searched for the princess.

After a great deal of effort he had managed to get to the throne room. It used to be at the castle's main entrance, but it was pushed further into the depths of the castle after the whole thing was destroyed and rebuilt centuries ago. It was empty and hollow. If a panic broke out Zelda was supposed to assemble here with her advisers. Instead there was only one other being in the room; Mio. She was sitting on the throne and leaning forward. Her hands rested on her sheathed sword that stood vertically to hold her weight.

"You're late." Her accented voice echoed off of the walls. "You're a soldier, aren't you? Well, a high rank soldier appointed to Zelda herself. Therefore, when there is any type of outbreak you come here, or at least that's what I've been told. The servants have been running around like chickens with their heads cut off for the past twenty minutes. By the way, no one else showed up. Only the princess' lackey."

Link's earlier anger returned with a surge of annoyance. "Get off the throne. Where is Zelda?" Mio stood and threw the sheathed sword at his feet. It skidded to a stop in front of him. It was his long sword, the one she had gotten him. Mio's own curved blades rested on her sides.

"Kidnapped."

Link's anger dissipated and was swiftly replaced with shock. "How... Who...?" He stopped to think for a moment. "And you let them get away?"

"I was in Castletown. I could never have gotten there in time, even if I knew what was going on. Whoever had done it was fast. Also, the soldiers let them get away, not me. Have you seen any of them?" No answer. "They ran away. Come on, we have a lead." She had made her way to stand beside him. "One of the servants told me she seen them head towards the forest."

"I was just in the forest."

"The other one, across the field or something." Link took pause. The other forest across the field... The old Kokiri forest? That old forest had been deserted for ages. Why take Zelda there?

Mio stared up at the horse Hiver had promised her. She'd never seen one in her life, and although she wasn't as big as some of the Hyrulean horses, she was still rather intimidating. She stared at Mio with beady black eyes that held a variety of defiance. Before now Mio had attempted the ride the female horse, but she only bucked the short girl off. That little adventure resulted in a sore behind and a major headache.

Link trotted past her on his own horse. Some sort of wild horse as far she knew. The horse whined eagerly when he pulled the reigns to stop beside her. He didn't miss the nervous looks she was sending her own black and white calico horse.

"Come on, we have to get going _now_." Epona, as she recalled him naming the horse, gave another impatient whine and stomped the hooves covered by a layer of white hair.

"Can't we walk?" She'd much rather take the helicopter, but fuel costs were up. Not that it mattered, since Hyrule didn't have any fuelling stations. Plus, it wasn't quite stealthy. Link scoffed at her from atop of his horse. He looked down at her with slanted blue eyes, scrutinizing the short foreigner. He told her to get on the horse blandly. Mio swallowed hard, then spoke with an edge of embarrassment. She shouldn't be embarrassed, but she hated the idea of admitting he was better than her at something. "I've never been on a horse before."

Link scoffed again.

"Everyone knows how to ride a horse. Now stop being stubborn and get on your horse." Epona made a sound similar to Link's scoff. Great, now the horse was making fun of her.

"Maybe in Hyrule. Where I'm from there aren't too many horses." He must have been getting sick of the argument she was putting up because he glared at her in a snobbish manner. The staring contest lasted almost an entire minute. He must have gotten sick of that too because he grabbed Mio by the arm and hoisted her onto Epona. The horse protested at first, but calmed when Link stroked her mane. Mio, on the other hand, wasn't so easy to calm. She flailed about, trying her best to get him to let go. She ended up being placed in front of him with Epona's mane clutched between her fingers. He let her go to grab the horses reigns.

"What do you think you're doing?" Mio stared back at him, an unpleasant frown painted on her face. She wasn't impressed.

"You'll never be able to control the horse of you've never ridden it before. We don't have any time to waste." Link flicked his wrists and Epona lurched forward. He considered gloating about the fact he could do something she couldn't, but there would be plenty of time for that later. He had to manoeuvre Epona to the field before he could give his concentration on more unimportant matters.

It had probably been a bunch of hooligans who had taken off with the princess. Like Mio's obvious observation, the castle guards were slack, and it wouldn't be hard to sneak by them.

Still, to go to the Kokiri Forest, a forest long gone and taken over the Lost Woods that once resided in it, was rather extreme. They must have been put up to a hefty dare.

Mio tensed in front of him as Epona picked up speed. It was obvious she was afraid, but she would never admit to it. Her hands were turning white from the force she was exerting through gripping Epona's mane.

"Loosen up before you make her angry."

"The horse can suck it up." Link frowned at her.

"Listen. You can pick on me all you like, but don't go thinking you can do the same to Epona." She ignored him. He knew as long as he didn't do anything about it Epona would put up. The travel to the Lost Woods could take all day, why not pick on Mio now that they had started the trek across the field? "You've never been on a horse, huh? It's kind of obvious now."

"Can it, blondie." He was silent for a moment, if only to interpret her slang. She was telling him to shut up. He didn't quite understand why she kept mentioning that he was blond.

"You aren't so high up now, are you?"

"Hey!" She turned as much as he'd let her in order to glare at him. "At least I can admit I've never been on a horse, and that I have no clue on how to ride them! You're the one with issues here."

"You're very defensive." She grunted disapprovingly and turned back around. When silence enveloped them, Link thought it was for the best. Mio's shrill screaming was hard on his ears when she was right beside him. As he slid into a more relaxed state, Mio remained rigid. She didn't like the way the horse trotted. It was churning her stomach and her behind was beginning to ache. How he was so used to it was beyond her. He hadn't shown one sign of discomfort. In order to keep from getting sick Mio concentrated her thoughts elsewhere. With very few options to choose from she glanced about her surroundings.

Hyrule certainly was beautiful, she'd give it that much. It's nature was boundless, cherished. Everything looked so green. It was a great change from the dark, dingy streets of Tokyo. The air was fresh, it's scent clean and healthy, not the least bit smoggy. What she had begun to love most was the night sky. She'd never seen so many stars so clearly, and all in one spot.

Evening was beginning to emerge. The sun was on the verge of disappearing as blue transcended the orange light. Link had long ago grown impatient, but Epona couldn't go any faster. The Lost Woods were still a way off and a challenge in itself. Whoever took off with the princess better be treating her well. He knew he had to be sensible, he had to be calm about the situation. Zelda would be fine, if only for one night. They wouldn't take off with her just to kill her. Worst case scenario, they wanted a ransom. She'd be fine for the night. Link knew they'd have to stop for now.

The two had already entered a part of the forest where the trees were thin and the field grass transferred to a half soil-grass mixture. They would stop there for the night. Epona was tired, he could feel it in the way was trotting crookedly. Mio was becoming restless, and if not that, at least bored from the long journey. She had started shifting around long ago, trying her best to create some degree of comfort. He was slightly impressed, she hadn't complained verbally once.

"Getting sore yet?" Link chided. He slowed Epona to a stop. There was a river nearby and he planned on taking the sluggish horse there as soon as Mio got off. He knew the field and the thin woods around it by heart, but knew nothing, except for the fact it was once the Kokiri Forest, about the Lost Woods. He'd never ventured into it's depths, only cautiously lingered on it's edges. This time he was being forced in. He'd just have to be careful. It wouldn't hurt Mio any if she didn't know he had no clue what lies in the Lost Woods, or the fact that he'd never been on a single trail in there.

"Sore? I've been through worse. I'll probably be stiff though." She felt Link move away from behind her and turned to see him land softly on the ground. He offered her his hand to help her down, but she only batted it away. She fell off the horse. Her legs, half way through the dismount, seized up and she fell stiffly, hitting the ground with a flat thump. She groaned painfully on the ground. Link rushed to help, it was only in his nature.

"Are you alright?" Mio peered up at him. She had miraculously landed flat on her back. He looked sincere so she tried not to berate him.

"Yeah." It was all she could manage through a pained moan. He offered his hand again, and again it was promptly declined. She sat up on her own. Her hair was a mess with bits of grass scattered about. Link suppressed a small chuckle. Luckily she didn't notice. "Why'd we stop?"

"Epona is tired." He had said creature by the reigns and was leading her away. "I'm bringing her to the river. I suggest you stretch or you won't be able to move tomorrow."

"What about the princess?" She stood and stretched her legs and tested them by walking in painfully slow circles. She could feel the kinks forming under the surface of her skin. "You're not going to run in valiantly? Huh, maybe you're smarter than I thought." She paused to think, then crossed her arms over her chest. "Or, maybe you don't care as much as you say you do." That stopped him in his tracks. He didn't turn to face her when he spoke.

"It's not a lack of caring. I'm very concerned, but I cannot go running into the woods tired and blind. The Lost Woods aren't exactly kind at night. It has that name for a reason."

"Go water your horse." She was tired of putting up with him. He left and finally she could stretch in peace. It was rather awkward with someone around.

Like he remembered, the river was only a minute or so away from where he had left his "trainer". Leaving Epona to her freedom, Link settled against a tree and gaze upward.

Poor Zelda... If only they had left earlier. Then again, she wasn't kidnapped earlier. A new 'what if' replaced the previous. If only he hadn't stormed off. He could have prevented the entire escapade, or at least know who did it. Zelda would just have to hold tight. He would find her.

His hat levitated into his view. For a moment he was petrified, which was swiftly overtaken with relief as he remembered the blue orb from earlier. Was it still the same day?

"A little help?" The hat shook but refused to fall. Link snatched his hat out of the air, leaving behind the small, glowing orb. He replaced the green cap back onto his head. "Thanks. Hey! Do you remember me now?"

"No." She better not start this again.

"Darn. Hey! That girl from earlier, er, I can't remember her name. She sure is a stick in the mud."

"Her name is Mio, and you don't know the half of it. I'll be lucky if she doesn't kill me in my sleep tonight for pulling her onto Epona."

"Never seen her before... How do you know her?" Navi settled onto Link's shoulder, leaning casually into a lounging position.

"She's here to train me, or so I'm told." Something in the back of his mind told him she was going to ask questions until the day he died.

"Train you? But you never needed someone to..." He was looking queerly at her, and her rambling came to a slow stop. "Never mind." She said it a little too quickly, but shut up immediately after. Link didn't push the subject. Why risk the silence? It didn't last as long as he had hoped.

"Are you sure she's fine by herself?"

"Yes."

"You sure? She didn't even know how to ride a horse. How much could she know about the woods?" It didn't matter what he answered. Epona was finished drinking and he would have to bring some water to the campsite anyway. "Hey, I'm going to go, um, yeah. I'll be back later." With that Navi took off into the woods, not letting him respond. The bright blue light she emitted faded with distance. Somewhere in the back of his mind he felt a sense of loss, but pushed it aside. That was ridiculous, he didn't even know the little blue orb. He sighed impatiently when he arrived at the campsite.

Link found Mio sitting cross-legged and leaning against a tree, eyes shut. He recognized the position immediately; meditation. Not far from her was an odd structure in the shape of a prism dome. He would have called it a tent if it didn't look so foreign. He walked over to it after setting down his pail of water, one of the few things he had stowed away in his pouch, and touched it out of curiosity. It felt fake and made awful scratching sounds when touched. Mio explained it without even opening her eyes.

"It's a modernized tent. I packed one when Hiver told me Hyrule was backed-up in technology. Never thought I'd end up sleeping in a castle. At least it'll get some use since it'll rain tonight. Not bad, since it's the first time I set one up. Then again, unlike horses, it comes with instructions." Link felt it again. He hated the feel of it, but it was just too interesting to pass up. "It's waterproof. That's why it feels weird."

She had the thing packed away in the pouch Hiver given her just in case. It would fit the both of them, and if he pissed her off, she could always kick him out, and into the rain. He sat a ways from her and piled nearby twigs for building a fire. Being so close to nature, Link always carried a piece of flint with him. With a few good flicks of rock against flint the fire flickered to life.

"How do you know it will rain?" He asked out of the blue. The fire flickered before him, tossing orange liquid light onto anything within it's reach. Darkness and begun to fall, and the summer temperature was cooling off. Above stars budded across the navy sky in small, white bursts.

"Can't you feel it? It's calm, nothing is moving. There's an English expression where I'm from; the calm before the storm. You can sometimes feel it before it rains. Plus I seen the clouds in the distance after you took off." Link didn't reply, and even though her eyes were shut he nodded in understanding.

"Hey, Link?" Mio was looking at him now, eyes glazed with concern. "My horse, we sort of ditched it. Will she be okay?"

"Probably. Horses are smart creatures. Besides, I'm sure one of the guards will recognize her and bring her back to the stables." Mio made a noise between a squeak and a snort.

"I'd depend on the horse before the guard."

"It must be different where you're from. To have never been on a horse..." She considered his statement for a moment. He was looking for information. How many times had she injured him? Plenty, she decided. She would tell him a bit, if only to make up for the posture lessons. His injuries were his mistakes after all, and no one learns from a mistake if they are rewarded for it.

"Very. Everything in Tokyo is different. Sights, sounds, even the smells. It's the opposite of Hyrule. Here it's clean, it's quiet, it's green. There's not much green left where I'm from." Link tried to imagine it, a Hyrule without green. He couldn't. Hyrule would always be green. "It's grey, and smoggy in Tokyo. And crowded. Very crowded."

"Why don't you move?" It was a tenable question.

"I'm rarely home anyway. There's no point." Link made a small 'oh' sound. "I'm going to bed. I'm sure you can figure out a zipper. There's a little metal tag near the top -center of the tent. Close it up when you're inside. I'm sure you don't want to get wet." She left him without a goodnight.

He found it funny how she hobbled from her sore legs.

He still couldn't imagine it. A world without trees just wasn't possible. Trees supplied everything. Building wood, wood to burn, fresh air. How icould/i there be a world without trees? Her country must be depressing.

Link got comfy as he settled for the night. He'd be fine under the tree he had chosen as his. He was used to sleeping this way. He looked above him. The stars were shining brightly through the dark canopy of leaves. He didn't feel the calm Mio had been talking about. The sky was clear, and according to common knowledge, no clouds meant no rain.

Link awoke to the sound of trickling water. Next he realized he was thoroughly soaked, and had an unhappy fairy tugging on his pointed ear. Ignoring the small blue orb he looked about him, still half dazed. The earth was soaked with a film of water. The leaves above were dripping gradually, their moisture falling soundly to the ground at random intervals. He himself was sitting, clothes sodden, in a puddle.

"You idiot!" He barely registered Navi when she spoke. She must have come back. "I can't _believe _you fell asleep out here! The moment I come back to check up on you, and you're getting yourself sick!" He swatted her away.

"It's barely raining." It was only drizzling, nothing serious. It must have been misting for quite awhile for him to be drenched. "I might as well crawl in there. I wonder if it's even dry in there." With a huff Navi took off back into the woods. As his mind cleared he wondered if he had imagined the whole thing.

Casually, the soaked young man approached the tent. He paused, only for a moment, as he tried to find the metal tag Mio had mentioned. With a firm grasp he pulled it down, only to stop midway. What a fascinating noise. Link pulled it up and sound became higher in pitch. He pulled the zipper down once more before pulling it back up. He continued liked this for a few moments, enjoying the strange sound of metal clasping and unclasping.

"Honestly!" Link stopped mid-zip. Inside the tent Mio was propped up, glaring at him. Her short black hair was dishevelled, and one side of her face was a rosy red. One half of her was under blankets, and her shirt was crocked. What demanded his attention was her expression. It was an open mix of fatigue, anger, and annoyance. A horrible combination. "Are you eight? It's a fucking zipper! If you don't mind stopping for, lets say, two hours so I can _sleep _I'd truly appreciate it!"

Link found himself caught between embarrassment and accomplishment. He had been acting like a child, but he couldn't help it. It was just so different. He had also managed to annoy Mio. Usually he was on the receiving end of such an emotion.

"Are you getting in here, or are you going to sit out there in the rain?" Snapping back to reality, Link realized he was still holding the tent half open. Quickly he clambered into the tent and heard Mio zipper the tent up behind him. As he settled himself to sit down, Mio rearranged herself under her blankets once more. He was surprised to find the inside completely dry. "Idiot." She commented just loud enough for him to hear. "You watch, you're gonna get sick from sitting out there. Did you take your shoes off."

"No."

"Put them outside." Link noted that she hadn't said 'please', but gladly obliged, if only to hear the zipper again. Once done with his task he sat back down at the opposite end of the tent of Mio. She was nearly wide awake now, and looking fairly peeved.

"We should leave soon." Link suggested. It was about this time he got up anyway.

"It's still dark out, and I'm tired. It wouldn't be so bad if you hadn't woken me up." She gave him her trademark glare.

"It will be dawn soon, and Zelda is still out there." Link stared back, unwavering. Now that he was wide awake his priorities were at the forefront of his mind. Mio gave a long sigh. It was going to be a horrible day.

"Fine. It's not like I'll get back to sleep now. Thanks by the way, I'm gonna be grumpy all day." Link almost commented that she was always cranky, but held his tongue. "I'll start packing the tent. You can, you can go do something. By that, I mean get out so I can change."

Link was gone with one swift sound of the zipper


	6. Chapter 05

Legends: Chapter Five

They were entering the woods at an even pace, and slowly the trees became thicker with every step. This was nothing new for Link, except for the uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach. Something was wrong with these woods, something more sinister was laying in it's darkest depths. He was light on his feet, but it did him no good. Behind him Mio was tripping about. She cursed on more than one occasion when she almost collided with the forest floor.

"Must you be so loud? There could be wolves in here." Link was beginning to wish he still had Epona, but knew better. She was simply too big, she'd only slow them down.

"Shut up. I'm not used to the woods. I live in a place with no green remember?" Mio's foot caught another root and stumbled forward. She caught herself with the aid of a nearby tree. Link snickered to himself. "Fuck sakes!"

"Quiet. You sure are bad at this." She didn't reply verbally, instead she settled for kicking him in the shin. "Ow! What's wrong with you?"

"Shut up before I kick you where the sun doesn't shine." He was about to question it but decided it was best not to find out. Mio was more of the type to explain through actions than words.

The deeper the two travelled, the thicker the trees and shrubbery became, posing more difficulties for the city slicker. Already the mud had coagulated enough to pull and tug at the feet of whoever dared to set foot in it. The branches grappled at them, but were no match against Link's new sword. There was only one major set back, Mio caught onto Link's fibbing.

"Do you even know where you're going?" She asked with a scrutinizing glare.

"Sort of. I know there's a clearing somewhere North-East."

"Somewhere? What makes you think Zelda is even in the clearing? Or... Are you lying through your teeth?" Honestly, was the boy so dense? The only lead they had was that Zelda was taken in the _direction _of these woods. She may not even be in the woods.

"She just is." Link replied absently. Something had caught his attention. Whatever Mio had been saying was no longer important. A sound, almost musical. Not caring what the consequences were, he sprinted in it's direction, cutting his own way through the thicket.

Mio stopped and watched Link disappear into the forest. She then realized she was in the process of being ditched. In the woods. Where one was meant to get lost. In a country she was foreign to. The small girl took off after him, yelling colourful words. Was he _trying _to abandon her?

"Oi! Where in the world are you _going_?" She had managed to catch up, bounding over roots along the path Link had created in his haste. He didn't supply an answer. Link continued to press forward. She would have thought he was stuck in a trance if he didn't look so determined. "Hello? Answer me!" Link slowed and turned to face her as he came to a stop. Brows furrowed, expression undoubtedly confused, he looked at the short girl before him as if he'd never seen her before. "What's wrong with you?" Mio looked exasperated and annoyed. Of course, Mio! Link's mind clicked with recognition.

"What are you talking about?" He said it honestly but Mio wasn't buying into it.

"You just took off out of nowhere! I know we got off on the wrong foot, but to leave me in the middle of the forest is a bit much." His confusion only got worse. What in the world was she going on about?

"What?"

"I _am not _repeating myself!" Link did what he knew worked best; he ignored her. After all, they only had so much precious daylight time. Link turned to follow that path. He was greeted by branches and bushes. Now he was sure they were lost. He had to stay calm. Panicking would only make the situation worse.

The music started again, this time louder, closer. Link began to follow it once more, keeping a steady pace for Mio's sake. Didn't she hear it too? Only one way to find out.

"Do you hear it?"

"Hear what?" The grumbled reply came from behind him broody.

"That music."

"What music?" Link paused for a minute and Mio stopped behind him. She stared at his back, still angered by his attempt to be rid of her. "I still don't hear it. Maybe your gigantic ears are picking up radio waves..." He didn't entirely understand the joke, but there was no time for it now.

"I'm serious." He tried to convince her with his tone, but she only 'whatevered' him and pushed him to keep walking. So maybe she didn't hear it. Even if he could hear the upbeat melody clearly now. He wasn't crazy. Mio was simply deaf. That was all. The music got louder to his left and he obediently followed. He needed to find it's source. It was something important and he knew it.

The two carried on weaving through the woods, Mio following Link with a sense of hopelessness. She knew they were painfully lost. She was merely waiting for Link to admit it. After all, she had her compass and a flare gun. Given she wasn't one of those outdoors people, any idiot could work a compass. The flare gun was more her style. She had given specific instructions to her pilot to look out for the flare between seven p.m. and ten p.m. just in case. It wouldn't be hard to spot across the flat field, the only challenge was getting it above the trees. Link weaved to the left again. She was tempted to slap him. What happened to travelling North-East?

"Link, where the hell do you _think _you're going? We've passed that same damned oak tree at least three times!" She was tired, hungry and sore. Would it kill him to stop for one minute? Like predicted, Link ignored her. Just as she was about to yell at him he spoke.

"Don't trust the trees. They move." His tone was so serious it was almost scary. "Keep close. You never know what might lurk around the next turn." His voice was hushed and he sheathed the sword he had been using to cut their path. He settled now for pushing the branches aside. Mio tightened her gloves and followed his lead.

"What do you mean by the tree move?" Like Link she kept as quiet as possible, which was proving difficult as she struggled through thigh high bushes.

"We're almost there." He hadn't answered her question. Mio tried another one.

"What do you mean 'almost there'? You told me you didn't know the way."

"Shh. Listen." Mio reluctantly obeyed and fell silent. The sounds that met her ears were unexpected. A mixture of slurping, grumbling, gurgling and inhuman groaning wafted through the woods. The harder she tried to listen the worse it got. Scuffling, crunching, cracking, like bones being broken. Whatever was out there, there was a lot of them.

"What in the world-"

"Bulblins."

"What?" Mio whispered harshly. "What in the seven hells is a bublin?"

"Shh." Link crouched and shuffled forward. Mio just stared at him, perplexed by his actions. This wasn't like the Link she was only becoming used to. He was calm, he knew what he was doing, he was serious. Maybe he was ill, or bumped his head. He looked back at her and motioned for her to follow. She copied his actions until she was crouched beside him. Mutely he pushed the bushes in front of them apart.

Beyond the bushes, from what she could see, was the clearing Link had mentioned. Short green creatures paced back and forth while others sat, eating something she couldn't identify. The gurgling sounds were coming from their wide mouths. They wore scraped clothing, sloppily sewn together at random points. On their heads sat a brown cap to cover their most likely bald heads. Two horns protruded from the sides of their heads, one on each side. They were armed with clubs and a full quiver and bow. They didn't look competent enough for archery. Their beady red eyes darted back and forth, not sparing anytime to fully evaluate anything.

"So what now?" No answer. "Link?"

"Shh." Too late. One of the green figures spun on it's heel and hobbled over to their hiding spot. It's porkish nose wiggled as it sniffed the air curiously. It stopped, tensed, then screeched. The bulblin lifted it's club, the stone at it's end swished as it sailed through the air as the bulblin ran. It charged towards the bushes, hobbling quickly to cover the left over ground between it and the bushes. Around the clearing other bulblins followed suit. "Now you've done it."

"They can't be that hard to kill, can they?" No answer.

Link was up and moving anyway. Sword drawn and ready to fight. This definitely wasn't the Link she was sent to train. His stance was perfect. Sword angled correctly in order to block, parry, and stab. Already he was tearing through the little suckers. Had he been holding out? Definitely not, he'd rather be rid of her than pretend he couldn't fight. Something was up. Another bulblin clashed with Link, only to meet his fate. The ground was littered with dead, bleeding, green bodies, and Mio hadn't even moved from the bushes. Judging by the way Link was handling them an assassin of her calibre should have no trouble at all. Not wanting to be left out, Mio drew one of her curved blades and a spare knife from her boot.

One, ran straight onto her blade. Two, she swiftly dodged and decapitated. Three, was kicked to the side while she cut down four, then impaled just before five was dispatched with a sickening slice through the mid-section. Six, got a knife to the skull. It fell to the ground noisily. Mio prepared for the seventh, but the bulblin never came. Sheathing her sword, Mio searched for Link. He was crouched among the deceased, cleaning his sword of blood with one of the bulblins burlap gloves. She counted more that twenty bodies before giving up. _Impressive_. Link sheathed his sword and stood.

The clearing was silent. It was deafening compared to how loud the clash had been. Something was off. His mind was telling him the clearing should be clear, flat ground, with nothing to block the view but trees. In front of him was a temple of sorts. He stared at the structure, unsure in what he should do. It looked so familiar.

"Link, I'm talking to you." He felt as if he'd been slapped, awoken from a startling dream. Mio was walking towards him, once again annoyance was clear on her features. "Honestly, your attention span is shorter than that of a goldfish. What now?" He ignored the foreigner as he tried to right himself.

When had they arrived in the clearing? How? They had been so lost... Link stared at the bodies that lay motionless and bloodied on the ground. The sight was gruesome. Entrails were seeping from stomach wounds and their beady red eyes looked nearly black, stretched in what looked to be shock.

"...Bulblins?" He felt lost, confused. Bulblins were things of legend.

"That's what you told me they were. Are you feeling okay? You look a little sick."

"I'm fine. I just need to sit for a moment." The clearing he had never been in before felt entirely too familiar. He had been here before, but he had spent his entire life near Castle Town. When he did venture he always kept clear of the Lost Woods.

"And what about the princess?" Link looked up at Mio from his crouched position. He barely remembered lowering himself to rest. "You don't think she's in there, do you?" Mio gestured to the temple. He stared at it for a moment. It was definitely an old temple, what else could it be? But it looked well maintained. Not a single crack or sign of erosion ruined it's pristine stone walls. It was off though. He felt as if he'd cheated, it shouldn't have been so easy to find the door. Link shook his head. He didn't know that, there's no possible way he could.

"She could be." _She is_. "We might as well look." Link was unsure about his motives. Did he wish to enter to look for Zelda, or his own sake?

The two entered the wooden door of the temple, decorated with thick stained glass. It creaked loudly, it's age screaming out in protest. It didn't budge at first. Mio corrected it, kicking it out of frustration. She was done with the woods at this point. All she wanted was to find Zelda and get out. The broken door shrieked as it opened, revealing a hall that lead to another door. Dust jumped into the air from the movement of the door, and with every step the pair took. The outside may have looked fine, but the inside was abandoned, left to rot. Beside him, Mio coughed as she inhaled some of the dust. He gave her a questioning look.

"What?" He raised an eyebrow, not wanting to open his mouth in case he sucked in any dust. Mio gave a frustrated sigh. "Where I'm from, if you'll recall, the air isn't so great. I guess my lungs aren't as strong as I thought." She coughed again, batting her hand in front of her face to get rid of flying dust. Link nodded in comprehension, and opened the next door. He retched it, then pushed. This time the door opened without any other struggle.

The room was large, and dark. Only one section was visible. In the center of the large room sat Zelda, bound and gagged with rope. When Link burst through the door she tried to cry out to him with no avail. Link rushed to her side, jumping the stairs that lead to the middle of the room.

Mio was more cautious. She didn't like the room. It felt malevolent, like something was lurking in the shadows, waiting for the perfect time to strike. It was too dark, there were too many hiding spots. With only the middle lit by four torches, she felt closed in._ There are no windows. So for all we know there is only one exit. _The quietest sound, a shift among shadows put Mio on edge. Someone was waiting in the darkness that clung to the walls.

"Link!" Zelda screamed as the rope that bound her fell limp around her. "Thank the goddesses you're here. That man, the one who took me, he looked li-!" A dark chuckle filled the room and bounced off the hollow walls. Zelda froze immediately, ridged as ice. Mio ran to the middle to meet the two. Whoever was there, wasn't going to fool around. Not if he planned to put on a show.

"You've gotten slow. I expected you to be here yesterday." It was impossible to tell where the voice was emitting from. The walls were too hollow, they distorted the voice and it echoed harshly. "Tell me, have you lost your touch?" A figure approached the middle, but stopped far enough to keep his identity to himself. "Well, hello. This is a surprise. Tell me Link, where did you find the new addition? I must say, she is quite interesting. Then again, new toys are always more entertaining than old ones." Mio felt anger bubble up in her chest. She got the distinct feeling he was talking about her, and she would not stand to be called a toy. Still, she held her ground. Jumping into the shadows wasn't exactly intelligent. "Come now, Link, speak up, or have you gone mute?"

"Do I know you?" Link asked shakily as he helped the princess to her feet. Beside him Mio had both swords drawn. The dark chuckle turned into a full-blown laugh.

"Know me? You know me well, Link. Zelda, who do I sound like?" Zelda shook her head, refusing to say a single word. "Come on deary, you have nothing to fear. I have no interest in you since I found out your hands are... untouched. Now, answer me if you will."

"Link." She answered bleakly while burying her face into Link's back. Now that it had been mentioned, Mio could hear it. He was only a little deeper than Link in the voice department.

"Good guess." The figure teased. "Now one more question. Who do I look like? Remember to speak up, sweetheart."

"Link."

"Very good." The figure walked out from his shelter of shadows, confidence evident in his strides. Silver instead of blond, and red instead of blue, the young man looked nearly identical to Link. Eye shape, cheek structure, height, even his clothing was of the same design, only black. Pale pointy ears peeked out from under the midnight hat. "You asked if you knew me, so, do you know me yet?"

Link stared at him, a mixture of disconcert and terror dancing in his eyes. He numbly shook his head. The paler version of himself laughed at his reaction, thoroughly enjoying himself.

"I am you. Well, a part of you, but details are unimportant." He paused for a moment, then turned to Mio. "How delightful, something new. A foreigner, a cute one no less... Aw, don't frown at me. No need for harsh feelings. I don't intend to kill any of you. I rather have a challenge."

"Then why capture the princess?" Mio asked rudely. She would spare this freak no formalities. "Do you have some sort of weird fetish?"

"Oh, fiery! For your information, I knew he would come for the princess. Just because I don't intend on killing any of you doesn't mean I can't have a little fun." He finished his answer with a devious smirk. He would have his fun.

"You're not me." Link looked at the impostor, anger scrawled about his features. He was not a part of him, there was no way. The man was a fake. The silver-haired Link gave a raspy chuckle.

"Honestly! You're a riot!"

"Enough!" Mio launched forward despite Zelda's cry against it. Twin blades readied, she clashed with the impostor's sword. Mystified, Mio quickly pushed away and went on the defence. When had he drawn his sword?

"Fine by me. I'll play with the fireball first. Come, lets have a little fun!" She hated that cocky grin. She'd tear it off his face.

"Get Zelda out of here. Apparently you know the way." Mio hastily blocked with her right sword. The pressure was more than she had expected as pain blossomed through her wrist. Still she held steady. Not wanting to look weak Mio lashed out with her left sword, and the impostor backed away. "I'll be fine!" Just as the final word escaped her lips the silver-haired Link made a swift comeback, slamming the hilt of his sword onto her skull. Mio's world flashed black.

"You'll be fine, hm?" He laughed at the crumpled form on the ground. She wasn't about to get up. "I'll admit, you do have some skill. Excuse me, I have a hero to torment."

"Leave her alone!" Zelda shouted. When the man's attention turned to her, she hid behind her saviour. Link drew his own sword, ready to defend his princess to the end. After all, that's why the royal family took him in.

"How pitiful... Do you honestly think you can take me on? You don't even have a shield! Maybe you should listen to Fireball and run." When Link made it clear he was going to stand his ground, the man continued. Red eyes slanted as he evaluated Link. "You're holding the sword incorrectly." A growl emitted from the blond, prompting him to smirk. "And you get worked up awfully quick. Enough petty teasing. You said I wasn't you. How do I know about what lies on your left hand, hm?" Link visibly tensed, frozen to the spot. _How... _"Oh, yes. I know all about your pitiful dilemma. You've hidden it your entire life, but surely you must know what it means.

"Tell me, how do I know about the royal family finding you as an infant, in these very woods? That they raised you to be Zelda's shield, fed you, clothed you? They never told anyone about you. They kept you a secret then put you out on the street once you were old enough to fend for yourself. You never knew your parents, your sibling... They died the night the monarchy discovered you. And yes, I know about your older sister. She died that night as well. She protected her precious baby brother with her own body. What a pitiful sacrifice. I ask you for an answer, how do I know all this, if I'm not you?" He grinned at the trembling blue-eyed hero. _How?_

"You're getting on my nerves with all this talk." The anti-Link turned to face the foreigner. She was only now getting on her feet. Her legs shook as she struggled to even her body weight. Amazingly enough, she still had both swords clutched in her grasp.

"Ah, it seems you have more kick in you than I anticipated. How thrilling." He blocked her sudden strikes with moderate ease as she twisted her heels to keep up with his backward steps. Link was going to jump in, he had to help, but Zelda held his shoulder tightly, an order to stay.

"Don't. She's supposedly stronger than you right? Maybe it's best that you don't interfere." Link watched with increasing uneasiness as Mio battled what he was beginning to believe was a part of him. How could he possibly have known about Aryll? He himself barely knew much about that night.

This was the first time he had seen the trainer in action. She had been sent to help him, but never once actually tried to show him anything serious. It was unlike any style he had seen. He could almost say she was dancing with the way she twirled, slashing at only the right moment with precision and accuracy, only to be blocked and pushed away. She dodged in the same practiced twirl. She was ungraceful though, giving her dance an edge that made him think she would fall any moment. A few moments more of dodging and attacking, Silver-haired Link shoved Mio away when she was in mid-stab. She stumbled backward, but quickly regained her balance.

"Not bad, for someone so small that is." That seemed to tick her off, as she rushed forward only to be dodged with ease. "You know, it'd be best if you gave up and sat in a corner. I don't really feel like hurting someone with such spirit." Every word that dripped from his mouth was overflowing with sarcasm.

"Oh, please. Get over yourself!" She dashed forward, jumping to the side in order to dodge, and soon enough the sound of metal clashing filled the room once more. It seemed the villain was content with blocking.

"You're tiring yourself, give up."

"No!" She found her opening, his first slip up. With speed attained over years she thrust her left sword into the offender's chest. "Ha!" Her celebration was short lived when he smirked at her. He hadn't stumbled, or even called out in pain. His only response was a devilish smirk. Catching her off guard he pushed Mio to the ground. She let go of the left sword, stunned as it stayed in place inside the man's chest. The other sword clattered to the ground next.

Confused and dazed from the initial hit Mio stared up at the should-be dead man. She felt the blade penetrate the sternum. He should be bleeding, he should be dead. She barely heard Zelda's panicked gasp.

"What's wrong Fireball? Did I snuff your ability to fight?" Without a single sign of pain he pulled the sword out of his chest. Not even a hole was left behind. "Really, did you think it'd be so simple?" He tossed the blade to the darkness. It never made a sound.

"Mio! Get up!" She was up and moving, her other sword forgotten. She scrambled to dodge another strike from the antagonist. Upon a quick inspection Zelda was still holding Link back. He seemed ready to go. _No point... He'll only get hurt. Where the hell is the fighter I seen earlier? _She wouldn't mind the help at this point.

Her attention shifted back to the silver-haired Link. Was he like a zombie? Would a headshot do him in? Ignoring the fact that zombies weren't real, Mio desperately reached for her hidden knife in her boot. Not thinking twice about aiming she gave the hunting knife a swift throw. It made contact, driving to the hilt into his forehead. He faltered a little, but it was soon followed by a deep laugh. The knife too was discarded to the soundless shadows. This wasn't going to end well.

"Come on now. You're just wasting your time." He materialized beside her in a flash, and knocked her to the ground once more. He pinned her by forcing one booted foot on her abdomen. "I didn't want to hurt you- what kind of a welcoming would that be- but if you're only going to get in my way, I'll have no choice." He plunge her own sword into her left leg, running it through to pin her to the ground. A cry escaped her throat, but the only thought coursing through her mind had to do with the fact that she hadn't seen him pick up her sword. Soon after the pain broke through the shock, rendering her useless.

"Now, Link, where were we?" He caught the blonds glance at his injured friend. "Don't worry about the little fireball, she'll live. You've had your fair share of painful experiences, you should know without a doubt she'll make a full recovery. It's no fun to break a brand new toy. In case you're still doubting my previous claim, I have another question for you. Age seven, do you remember that night? It was the first time you felt the need to explore. You left the castle grounds that night. You found a large well, and curiosity got the better of you."

"Shut up!" Link was cringing, fighting with himself to keep the memories from re-surfacing. He had promised himself not to think back to it. His 'other part' was circling him like a predator. Behind him Zelda let go of his shoulders, only to encircle his waist with her arms. He didn't feel comforted, as his eyes were glued to the silver haired villain. He had to do something. He let his eyes move away from their target and bowed his head. His voice dropped to a whisper. "Zelda, listen to me. You have to go help Mio. I'll keep him preoccupied." The princess nodded into his back in understanding. As much as she didn't want to leave the protection of her saviour, she didn't want to feel so helpless and useless by standing there and doing nothing. She waited patiently for any opportunity to sneak away. Bolting before the attacker's eyes wasn't a smart move.

"What you found at the bottom of that well, you told no one. When you fell down that well you discovered your worst nightmare." The man was behind him and Link's head snapped back up when he realized he was so close. The man grabbed Zelda by the hair pulling her away harshly, separating her from Link. The man watched as Link tried to turn to face him, but only laughed when he pushed the blond to the ground when the two made eye contact. He stomped on the fallen blond's chest, smirking happily as he coughed harshly.

"Leave him alone!"

"Please, princess silence yourself, or I'll be prompted to kill you." Below him Link continued to cough and wheeze. "What did you find in the dark tunnels below Hyrule? Do you remember your fear as the sounds of daft shuffling and the stench of the rotting deceased approached you?" Link was struggling to stand, but it was no use. He was barely beginning to regain his ability to breathe. "Answer me Link."

"Yes, now what do you want?" That only earned him a chuckle.

"Not saying." As Link struggled to stand and his doppelganger continued to torment him with words she couldn't make out; Zelda stealthily made her way to the pinned trainer. She knew she couldn't help Link in this situation. She didn't know anyone who could.

"Are you alright?" The princess asked as she knelt beside her appointed mentor.

"Do I _look _alright to you? There's a sword sticking out of my leg!"

"Sorry, I shouldn't have asked." Zelda paused as she weighed her only option. "I have to pull it out, don't I?" She grimaced at her own words. She had never been one for blood or violence.

"Well, that would be so very kind of you!" Mio squirmed in an attempt to elevate a portion of the pain, but it only ended up hurting in the end. She would have pulled it out herself, if it weren't just out of her reach. "Any time would be great!"

Zelda grabbed the blade's hilt with both shaky hands. Taking a deep breath, she prepared herself for anything that might happen when she removed the sword. Her breath was let out in a quick gasp as Link's pained scream echoed through the dark chamber. Silver-haired Link had ground her saviour's hand with his foot, twisting his ankle until Link's hand was contorted into a bloodied mess. Zelda let go of the sword and bolted to help Link. She had to help, she couldn't watch him get hurt and do nothing about it. She never made it to her destination as she was flung to the side by moving shadows. She scrambled away from the pulsing darkness, wide-eyed as it retracted back to the darkness.

"Have a seat princess. I have no business with you. Link, stand up! Let's play a little game!" Link slowly did as he told, clutching his distorted left hand. He stood no chance. Whatever hope he had was abolished with his hand. His right hand had never been any good to him. "Good boy! Now, let's see what you've got. Draw your sword, hero.


	7. Chapter 06

Legends: Chapter Six

How had he been so naïve? Then again, there was no way he could have predicted this. Slash after unrelenting slash Link barely managed to block his doppelganger's sword. The only thing he could hope for was a miracle.

"How pitiful… Here I thought that you might have been able to at least defend yourself adequately. You can scarcely do that." Link didn't register the taunts being spat at him. He was more focused on living. A slow movement in the corner of his eye told him Zelda was fine and moving toward Mio once more. Maybe a miracle wasn't impossible, maybe Zelda could reach and aid Mio. Although her previous attacks upon his doppelganger's person were useless, a distraction would be a well appreciated gift right about now.

The princess slowly inched toward the pinned foreigner. She was trying desperately to reach the sword, but the pain kept her from stretching her muscles enough to grasp the hilt.

"Here," the princess whispered once beside Mio once more. "Let me help."

"Oh. Because you were such a great help last time. What were you thinking? What could you have done to possibly he- AH!" Zelda tossed the bloodied sword aside. Her face blanched and a disturbing shiver ran through her. She could never have imagined the sound of metal sliding through flesh until now. The floor was soon covered with a new puddle of blood as Mio's open wound gave way to red fluid.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Mio sat up quickly and tore the mid-section from her shirt. "Would it kill you to give a little warning?" Not wasting anytime the fabric from her shirt was wrapped and tied around her leg; Mio's hands had become used to the motions of bandaging a wound. She could patch a wound with one hand tied behind her back.

"Are…" A sudden shiver made the princess sway. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, the sword missed the bone, and there wasn't too much muscle tearing. Here, help me up." Mio stretched out her arm and offered Zelda her hand. It was a rarity that she'd accept anyone's help, but Mio had very little options and time. Zelda faltered, her eyes glued to Mio's bloody hand. There was too much.

"You should rest."

"Help me, before Hyrule loses it's best soldier."

Mio's screeching hadn't been exactly subtle. It had proven to be more than enough to catch Link's attention; and keep it. As the pained screaming reached the hero's hearing, he froze on the spot as his priorities clashed. Help the young woman in pain, or fight the assailant who hurt her and was now after him? His instincts would be his downfall.

A thick pain crashed into his shins and Link tumbled to the ground. Silver-haired Link loomed over him, smirking. His hand twirled his sword casually.

"It seems Fireball is up and moving. I'm done with you, you're no fun anyway." Without missing a beat the sword ceased it's circular pattern and plunged into Link's right shoulder. The doppelganger chuckled at Link's strangled cries of pain. "Scream all you like, the pain isn't going to be scared off." He faced the newcomer and the princess, eyes slanted and mouth grinning. What an eventful evening it was turning out to be.

Zelda was sitting, her legs bent and out to the side. Her pale complexion and shaky breath gave way to her disdain against blood. His Fireball, on the contrary, didn't seem the bit phased. She limped her way forward, not letting her wound get the best of her.

"Oi! Fuck face!" She certainly had a elegant way with words. "Have you ever thought about picking on someone with the same strength?"

"I had been hoping to. Don't tell me you think you're going to be a challenge. You're injured and bleeding out."

"It's just a flesh wound!" Was that sarcasm?

"Aren't you adorable! Too bad I'll have to hurt you if you get in my way. Again." At the sound of her frustrated growl came a chuckle from his throat. "Maybe I should take my leave. The situation is swiftly becoming boring, and lets face it, the hero is bleeding profoundly. I want to be able to tease you in the long run." With that said, he turned and sauntered back into the shadows. Smirking when Mio launched herself at him, he gracefully side-stepped and pushed into her wound with his heel. Shrieking, Mio shrank to the ground. Silently, he continued on his path.

"So you're just going to run away like a coward?"

"Oh, please. By the way, while I'm still here, my name isn't Fuck-face. I prefer Shade. It suits me more." He never turned to look at the results of his chaos as he faded into the darkness.

Mio, knowing following him would only result negatively, crawled to the princess. She had overcome her shock, and grown brave. Zelda had managed her way to Link and was at war with herself over removing the sword lodged in his shoulder. He had passed out a while ago.

"Move, let me." Zelda shrank away, glad to be irresponsible for the removal of the sword. She didn't want to see her personal guard like that, or how he'd look after the sword was gone, up close. She whined at the thought of the stomach-churning sound that the sword would make when being removed. "This is no time to whine. Rip off some strips from the bottom of your dress."

Zelda stared down at the hem of her dress. It wasn't worth keeping if she lost Link. She promptly removed her gloves and handed them to Mio. "Take these for now." With her hands firmly gripped on the silk material she tore the pink dress inconsistently.

Mio busied herself immediately. While Zelda distracted herself, she tore the sword away from Link's body. Pressure was applied at once, the white gloves used as a barrier between the blood and Mio's hands. The blood seeped through the white gloves, sufficiently dying them. Soon enough a long strip of pink fabric was handed to her. Zelda had taken the liberty of tying whatever loose pieces together. To be on the safe side, Zelda had given the material that ranged from her knees to her ankles.

"Do you think he's gone?"

"Does it matter? He already knows where we are, and mostly likely where we're going. He'd have killed us if he wanted." Mio tied up the makeshift sling and sat up properly. Her own gash wasn't getting any better. "I hate to ask, but could you do me a favour? While I manage to get up, go check if it's dark out and safe." Without question Zelda approached the only visible exit; the one they had come from. She stalled ten feet in front of it.

"Alone?"

"No, with the green fairy. Of course alone!" She didn't appreciate being handled like that, but the princess ventured outside anyway. She needed to be strong. Her comrades had given so much, it was the least she could do.

What was Mio supposed to do now? She certainly couldn't carry him. Not only was he bigger than her in general, she could barely carry herself. She struggled to stand before staring down at Link. She kept her weight on her right leg as she pondered the situation. Zelda, as far as she could tell, was unharmed. She should be able to carry him. At least, out of the temple. She could only hope a flare could be seen over the trees, and that someone would be able to see it. She stared down once more at the passed-out blond. The whole Hyrule mission was becoming a bother.

His entire body felt as if it were aflame. He didn't dare move in fear of inflicting more agony. Maybe he was on fire. He didn't open his eyes, afraid that he might catch sight of a flickering orange. As he lay awake in pain the feelings both in him and around him became more distinguishable. His left hand ached and stung at the same time. Even if he wanted to move it he found he couldn't. Either the pain had crippled it, or it was constrained.

His chest burned and shook with every breath but it wasn't difficult to breath, If he had to guess his lungs were fine, but his ribs were bruised.

Nothing compared to his right shoulder, and he struggled to remember what happened. Why did it feel as if hot needles were pricking his shoulder? Why did it feel like a ball of coarse metal lay under his skin? What did the Forest Temple have to do with it?

"Is he awake?" The soft, familiar, female voice of the princess started his memory. He had been run through by his apparent doppelganger. Glorious. At the memory of cool metal sliding through his flesh, muscle and bone, Link's pain tenfold. He struggled to keep consciousness; he felt weak if he didn't. "He's in pain."

"No, really? I never would have thought such a thing." Who was speaking? He knew that accent, that voice. What was her name?

"Mio, I don't appreciate that tone." Came the princess' haughty reply.

"I don't appreciate the way you think you know what you're doing." Of course, Mio. He quickly came to the conclusion that everyone was fine.

"I was only trying to help." Mio's retort never came, and silence followed suit.

He tried to think of specifics; anything to distract himself from the pain. What had happened after he was stabbed? Better question; where were they? Link did his best to push the pain aside in order to concentrate. There was a breeze, he couldn't tell if it was cold or not; his body still felt like he was burning. The sound of leaves rustling came from all sides. They were most likely in the forest. Somewhere to his right he could hear a fire crackling. Along with it was the smell of ashes, burning wood, and cooking meat. He chased away the silly thought of Mio cooking him. _What else? _He was laying on something odd and prickly. The more he thought about it the more it agitated his skin. _Grass maybe?_

"Maybe you should give him more pain killers." Zelda's concerned voice brought Link back to reality. What in the world was she talking about?

"I've already given him five, not to mention they're extra strength. I'm surprised he didn't already OD." Better question: What was Mio talking about?

"Pardon me?"

"Over dose. We can't give him too much because it could harm him."

"Oh." Once again, silence washed over. Link was beginning to grow tired of sitting still. Though still in pain he was quickly becoming uncomfortable, and the need to move grew by the second. He started by cracking one eyes open. It was dark, he couldn't make anything out. He open the other, but nothing changed. Only the same nothingness. He decided to let his eyes adjust despite the pounding headache that begged him to close them and drift to sleep. Slowly small white dots began to appear across the black blanket above him.

"You are awake!" His view of the sky was blocked by a fair face that looked down at him with bright blue eyes. Zelda's light blond hair cascaded over her shoulders, leading to blotches of blood on her usually pristine gown. Link's eyebrows knotted as he eyed the dried blood that covered her shoulders and ran down the once pink dress. Wetting his lips he tried to speak, but only managed two raspy words.

"…What happened?" Zelda caught his line of sight and settled beside him on the dead grass. She was relieved on more than one level that he was awake. One; he was still alive. Two; she didn't have to talk to Mio anymore.

"I had to carry you out of the temple. Well, at least it appears to be an old temple." Link made a face to get his question out, he had to conserve as much energy as possible. "Oh, Mio couldn't carry you. Between her leg and her height, she wasn't up for any heavy lifting." Link could have sworn he heard Mio mutter 'I heard that' from somewhere beyond Zelda.

"He didn't hurt you?" Zelda took sometime to rearrange his mumbled words in her head. He probably didn't realize how terrible he sounded.

"No, just a bruise or two from being pushed around. I'm more concerned about you. Is there anything I can do to help?"

"Help me sit up, please."

"Oh no! You're staying right there! You could-"

"Do what he asked." Zelda turned to reveal the approaching Mio. She was limping unsteadily with a pained expression, but did nothing to slow her pace. "He won't learn if you keep babying him. Sit him up."

"But-"

"Just do it. Slowly, you might make him sick." Without another protest Zelda placed one hand under his blond head and the other wrapped around the front to grab his side. She awaited Link's approval.

Something was up. Link eyed Mio suspiciously as she tenderly lowered herself to the ground. She stared off into the sky, paying him no attention. It wasn't like her to give him what he wanted, he knew her that much. Not unless she could benefit in some way. It didn't matter. His body had begun to aggravate him again. He wanted to move. He needed to move. He gave Zelda the nod of approval; and immediately regretted his choice.

Pain sprouted from his shoulder. The sharp sensation spread until it reached his toes. He struggled to stifle a scream. He opted for a pained groan instead. Zelda went rigid, keeping him halfway into a sitting position.

"I'm sorry! I'll put you back down!" He didn't miss the panic in her tone.

"Don't." Zelda didn't even have a say. She turned her head to watch Mio. The small girl was scooting over to the pair, all the while she maintained her sitting position; one leg bent, the injured leg straight out. It was almost comical. "He wanted to sit up, let him sit. Besides, the sooner he starts moving the better." Mio stopped just behind Link, her back to his. "Lean his against my back. You've already strained yourself enough. You're probably not used to staying up all night either. You can sleep in the tent. I'll keep an eye open."

"What if you need to move him?"

"I'll manage. Now hurry up before your arms give out." Slowly, with many pained groans, Zelda leaned Link against Mio's back. She wished to do more, but Mio hadn't lead them wrong yet. She'd have to trust the foreigner to take care of Link for the night. Without a word she took her leave. As much as she didn't like the idea, Zelda would have to sleep in the odd tent alone.

Link focused on his breathing. In, out, in, out. Inhale, exhale. Each breath burned, and the heavy motions stretched his shoulder. He winced involuntarily with every intake, and with every exhale his dry throat shook and wheezed. Sitting up hadn't been a smart move. What had he been thinking? If only he could go back to laying down. His head spun in response. A distraction suddenly seemed like an excellent idea.

"Mio?" His voice came out raspy, and heavy in the Hyrulian accent. "Where are we?" For a moment he thought she might not of understood him. He went to repeat himself when she interrupted him.

"Outside of the temple, or whatever you guys called it. We couldn't get very far. You're the heaviest and the tallest, and Zelda isn't used to manual labour."

Daring to lift his head Link found himself confused. This wasn't the temple. Well, it was but… He couldn't explain what he thought. He knew this was the Forest Temple, but it didn't look like the Forest Temple. Nothing looked like it should, like it had when they got there. The grass they sat upon was dead, hay-like. Not the least bit green. Thorn bushes with no alluring flowers or leaves surrounded the woods on all sides. The forest, once lively with brilliant olive foliage. was bare and twisted. The temple had creeping vines and deep crevices and cracks on its once flawless surface. The stone the building was made of suffered from great amounts of erosion and weathering. Link felt a deep lose for it. The pit of his stomach tightened and his heart knotted. He felt as if he had lost something important, even though today was the first time he had ever seen the structure. Everything was still. A thought struck him.

Where were the leaves? He had heard them when he was laying. There wasn't even a breeze. The pit in his stomach went from pity to fear.

"Why is everything different." Mio had to have noticed.

"It looks the same to me." It was decided; he was going crazy. Time for a new subject, a new distraction from his sudden fear. "How are we going to get out of here?"

"I already shot a flare. We can only hope that my pilot seen it and is on his way."

"Kenta?" How was it that even in such pain he could remember the man's name, but Mio never could?

"Whatever. That was maybe an hour ago, so I doubt he seen it. Even if he did, I doubt he could get the helicopter in here. Maybe I'm being pessimistic…"

"Mio?" He heard her aggravated groan. She wasn't in the mood to put up with anyone right now, and it was beginning to show.

"What now?"

"What if he comes back? Zelda's the only one unharmed. Not that either of were of much use." Mio's abrupt intake of air gave him the notion that she was about to defend herself and he quickly continued his explanation. His pain could wait until he was done talking. "I know you're strong, but think about it. We're both sitting in the middle of a clearing; its an invitation to kill us."

"I know, it can't be helped." There was a long pause. The silence was accompanied by the quivering breaths of the blond boy. "Go to sleep. You'll need it to heal."

He awoke to a deafening noise. His cobalt eyes snapped open only to be blinded by an intense light. The wind whipped about and the sound of trees hitting each other was nearly blocked out. He could hear someone shouting, but who or what was impossible to tell. A hand grasped his left shoulder, another held onto his back. The pressure behind him left, and the hands kept him from tumbling backward.

"Link! Help me stand you up!" Zelda was holding him and shouting instructions. He still couldn't see. He tried to obey her, but the struggle seemed in vain. His body wouldn't listen. What was the awful racket, it was giving him a migraine.

Cool cushions covered his hears and the noise nearly disappeared altogether, leaving only a soft ringing in his head. Slowly he managed his eyes to open once more. Mio was crouched in front of him, adjusting whatever was on his head. She wore what he could only assume was what he was adorning. The odd contraption looked like a headband with ends that engulfed the ears. An extra piece jutted from one of the earpieces and wrapped around to hover inches in front of her mouth.

"Link, can you hear me?" He jumped as Mio's voice sounded clearly in his mind. "Just nod. I won't be able to hear you." He gradually nodded, eyes wide. iWhat in the world was going on now?/i "Good." Mio moved away, revealing the hovering helicopter behind her.

"Alright, both of you listen closely. With so many trees, and so little space, Kenta can't land; its too risky. So, he's going to get as close as possible and lower a ladder. Its pretty dangerous, but we have no other rescue equipment, or a rescue team for that matter. Zelda, you'll go first. I'll be right behind you. I'll carry Link on my back. I'd love to wait until day light, but Link's shoulder looks pretty bad. Ready?" Zelda gave a swift nod. "Good. Help him onto my back."

Did he have no say in the matter? When they had finally gotten him on Mio's back he concluded that the answer was no. Link stared in concern as the princess began her ascent on the provided ladder. It had been dropped while he wasn't looking. Once she was so high up Mio grabbed onto the ladder. It was awkward to say the least, with her being so small.

"Ready?" She asked him. He nodded knowing that if he said no it wouldn't matter. On top of that he wanted out of the woods as soon as possible. His shoulder had gone numb, which was probably a bad sign. "By the way, if I fall, you're more likely to die than me." His nod was cut short.

"What!" His voice was thrown to the whirling wind. Link shut his eyes at the first sign of the rope ladder swaying.

"Link? Are you awake?" Zelda's voice was chalked with alarm. "Mio, he's not moving."

"Let him rest. The big chicken fainted for a reason." _Fainted? Then__…__ Where am I now? _One eye open; blurred images moved about. The other opened and soon enough his hawk-like vision corrected itself. Zelda sat beside him, smiling.

"Hello." She greeted. He automatically spotted the change in her attire. The dress was blue.

"Where?" His voice gave out. What he wouldn't do for a glass of water…

"We're back at the castle. Mio's friend found us, remember? You passed out while Mio was climbing. Luckily you have a good grip in your sleep. While you were out we were able to stitch and re-wrap your wounds." Her smile fell as her expression became serious. "Are you feeling alright?"

Mio left the two to talk. No doubt Zelda was going to go on about how amazing it was to fly. She searched out her pilot for a word.

"Kenny." She spotted him loitering in the hallway. He spun on his heels at the mistreatment of his name.

"Its Kenta." He muttered. Kenta proceeded to stuff his hands into his leather jacket. She was sure she hadn't seen him without it.

"I know, but I thought I might give you heart attack if I used your real name." He smiled at that, but it didn't last.

"You shouldn't be walking on that leg. You don't even have crutches."

"_Pfft_. I heal quickly anyway. I need to talk to you. The security is too slack here. I'm taking them to Japan. At least Zelda will get her wish."

"Are you sure?" Kenta's eyebrows furrowed.

"There's something out to get them, and Japan is to my advantage at least. We'll leave as soon as Link is healed enough.


	8. Chapter 07

Legends: Chapter Seven

His hands shook, knees knocked, head whirled. He did his very best not to let anyone see his emotions, to show that he was beyond a doubt nervous. He wasn't the sort who easily got nervous, and when he did, it never ended well. It Typically ended in injury, or embarrassment. Like that time he brought the princess down to the beach. He had nearly drowned when she had tried to sit on his back while he swam. The whole day before he was fidgety and anxious, for no apparent reason.

This could end more tragically. This could end in a manner worse than drowning. What if they crashed? He turned to the princess then, surrounded by the sunlight in the courtyard, but she was no longer by his side. She was skipping off ahead, giggling like a young child. Her pinned, sandy hair swung and glistened as she pranced about in her pink dress. She stopped beside the big black monster. His concerns, not for the first time, were going ignored.

Link stayed where he was as he watched as Mio helped Zelda load necessities into the monster. He knew it wasn't a monster; it didn't breath or eat, or live. The facts didn't make the behemoth any less intimidating. The helicopter's steel exterior was shinning in the summer sun. It gave off an odd smell as heat rolled off of it. Already inside was Kenta. He seemed preoccupied.

"Are you coming or what?" Drawn from his thoughts, Link's eyes fell upon Mio, her hands on her hips. Zelda stood beside her smiling. "Or are you afraid?"

Link kept mute as he approached the menacing machine. He wasn't afraid. He had no reason to be afraid of the helicopter. He had already been in it before, though he had been unconscious. Before he could come to a stop in front of it, Zelda clambered inside. He could hear the servants talking about her bravery, all of which stood at a cautious distance. Mio continued to wait, but Link opted to take his time.

It's not like he didn't wish to go, in fact it was the opposite. The very idea of travelling gave him the chills and set a fire in his bones. He took his time in order to calm himself. He was being silly, there was no danger. If Mio could do it, and Zelda could do it, so could he; it was as simple as that.

"You know," Mio stated when he stopped in front of the helicopter's doors. "Where I'm from nearly everyone has been in an aircraft. Judging by how pale you are, I'd say you don't do well in the air." He didn't miss the way she crammed sarcasm into every word. Link wasn't below understanding why either. _Pay back…_

Ignoring her taunt he summoned as much courage as he could and lifted himself into the machine. It was oddly cool despite the heat it created on the outside. Zelda was seated against the wall near the back and he made his way to sit beside her. The odd chair was comfier than he imagined and upon further inspection he figured the smooth gray material was some sort of leather. The inside of the helicopter consisted of one door and seats that circled the interior. There was a half-wall that separated them from where Kenta sat at the front. Hollowed steel walls kept the space a tolerable temperature. It felt strange, foreign; it screamed Mio. When she sat on a seat adjacent to them she looked like she belonged in such a contraption. He didn't notice when the door shut.

"Ready?" Mio asked the two. She almost sounded relieved. Zelda nodded and accepted what Mio was holding out to her. It was two of the things he had seen when he had been injured and awoken when the helicopter had arrived. He took the one Zelda offered and followed her lead as she placed it on top of her blond head. The soft cushions covered his ears, blocking all sound. A delicate hand reached out and pulled down an odd looking piece in front of his mouth. There was no explanation. Next followed two straps that crossed his chest and held him to the chair. He pulled he headpiece down a moment so he could hear. Mio had yet to put hers on.

"Mind explaining all of this?" Link frowned in confusion. He didn't remember any of this.

"You think it's odd now, wait until we're moving. I'll explain then, it'll be a good distraction." Mio stuck her tongue out playfully. Since when could she be playful? "Ready when you are Kenta!" On went the headset, and Link followed her example. Once again, sound disappeared.

With nothing else to delay them Kenta started the engine, surprising both Hyrulians, one more than the other. Mio laughed at him, her voice playing much closer then she was. Before Link could ask how such was possible there was a jolt. Movement, they were rising. He felt his stomach knot. It must have shown on his face because Mio snickered at him again. Zelda's own bell like laughter joined in, hers filled with delight.

"Is this safe?" He asked, a little unsure.

"Of course." Mio answered. "Kenta knows what he's doing. Right Kenta?"

"Don't worry Link. I've been flying for years now. It's in my blood." Mio smirked as Link's eyes grew wider by the second. She couldn't tell what scared him more; flying or the headset.

"I think you should start explaining…" Zelda stated in concern.

"Fine. That thing on your head is called a headset. Technology has come a long way where I'm- in the rest of the world. The muffs over your ears are blocking out nearly all the sound produced by the helicopter, which is why we can't hear you without the black thing in front of your mouth. That's called a mouthpiece, or a mic. It basically takes your voice and plays it through everyone else's headset, and vice versa. Got it?" Link nodded, trying his best to process everything. "The seat belts," she gestured to the straps over his chest. "are pretty basic. They're so you won't tumble around during take off."

"How long will the trip take?" The sentence came out a little rushed. It didn't feel like they were moving too quickly.

"About four or five hours. Depends how fast Kenta feels like going."

"Hours?" How far was Japan? Better question, how fast were they moving?

"Yeah, by foot, if I had to guess, it'd take… I don't know, days, maybe weeks. Math and distances aren't my strong points…" Not that he needed to know that.

It was silent after that. Zelda went to looking out of a tinted window, and Mio went to ignoring them both. Having nothing else to do, Link distracted himself by observing by what was in front of him; Mio. How could she be so calm? He watched as she pulled a small book and pen out of her pouch she always carried. Finding a page she swiftly began to skritch the pen against it. He had caught her doing that exact thing many times during her stay, but never figured out just what she was doing. He also knew what the pouch was, and he wondered how she had gotten when if the rest of the world didn't know about Hyrule. He himself had a Kokiri pouch, the royal family claimed to have found it with him.

"Mio?" He asked firmly. He needed to know how she got it.

"Hm?"

"Where did you get that pouch?" She looked up from her task and stared at him curiously. "Do you even know what it is?" That was a stupid question, of course she knew, that's how she had stored her tent.

"I think it's called a Kokiri pouch. For your information I got it from the one who sent me to Hyrule. Why?"

"It's from Hyrule."

"Oh." She didn't have anything else to say about that and went back to her book and pen.

"Link! Wake up! We're almost there!" Zelda watched as Link slowly came to consciousness. His shinning cobalt eyes were still sleeping when he looked at her.

"What?" Where was he again? Moments ago he had been surrounded by children in a forest… He turned to see Mio staring back at him, her face blank. Right, the helicopter. Had he slept the whole way? That shouldn't surprise him. He was still tired from his healing injuries.

"Japan is only twenty minutes away!" Zelda happily clapped her hands together and bounced in her seat. Her face was flushed from the excitement coursing through her veins.

"Oh." Link fidgeted as he straightened his white sweater and baggy pants. He found his green hat on the floor. Another object that had been found with him on the night his family had been slaughtered. He played with the blue embroidery of his shirt while he pushed such morbid thoughts away.

"Calm down. You'll be able to see it soon enough." That was the thing. They didn't know _what _they were supposed to see. She very rarely mentioned what Japan looked like, and all Link had to go by was grey. Though, she hadn't lied. Only minutes later Japan's shores became visible. The closer they got, the more detail they seen, the more Zelda's mouth hung open.

"Are those buildings? They're so big…"

"Trust me, you'll see plenty of them in Tokyo. It isn't the most populated city in the world for nothing."

"Wow…"

"You guys might want to start getting ready to land, the airport is only a few minutes away." For the first time since take-off Kenta spoke.

"Airport?" Zelda asked, testing the sound of it.

"It's where we're landing. Hey, Kenta? Did you call to make sure my car is still there before we left?"

"It's still there. Mind telling me why I had service in Hyrule?" He chuckled at the end of his sentence, the humour lost on the Hyrulians.

"Ask Hiver, not me."

As if time itself knew nothing of great importance was happening the minutes passed by and Kenta asked them kindly to brace for landing. There was no reason for concern, it was merely a precaution. Only a slight bump graced the helicopter's return to Tokyo. Kenta cut the engine, and got out to help the other's.

Link stumbled out of the helicopter along with Zelda. Their bodies weren't accustomed to flying then having to walk. Mio followed suit, her hands full of bags, most of which were Zelda's.

"Oi! Lackey! Isn't this _your_ job?" Link frowned at her and didn't move to help her. He turned on his heel, intent on taking in whatever sight wherever they were offered. She was right, there wasn't any green in sight. Other large, longer white machines were littered about the rough grounds. A large building blocked his sight beyond that. On the other side of him was an endless blue ocean. Somehow it looked grey too, unlike the ocean off the coast of Hyrule, which always sparkled.

"No, seriously, take the bags. We're not staying here." Reluctantly he took Zelda's luggage and placed them in his pouch. He knew she'd complain later, but for now she was too taken aback by the strangeness of everything. Mio turned to Kenta. "Which parking lot is my car in?" She asked in her native tongue. She could have spoken in English, but Link would still have given her the same crooked look. He replied, and smirked when Link gave him a look of wonder. "Thanks. I'll give you a call when we're heading back. I'm not entirely sure when though…"

"Sure. See you."

"Bye." she turned to Link who appeared to be concentrating. Zelda stood nearby, confused. They rarely heard Japanese.

"_Sa-yo-na-ra_? What does that mean?" She was surprised when Link had managed the word on the first try. She tended to speak quickly with Kenta.

"It means good-bye. Now come on, we still have quite a ways to go."

Link stared at the red contraption and wondered. Did all of Japan depend so readily on technology? Large, with six windows and five seat, the thing didn't look like it could go very fast.

"Another form of transportation?" He asked no one in particular.

"The most common. I think. This time I mean it when I say nearly everyone in Japan has been in one of these. They're called cars. Mine in particular is new. Got it about a week before going to Hyrule. Sorta crashed the old one…" The last statement was a hushed murmur but he still heard it. She didn't seriously _drive_ this thing did she? And if so, how could he trust her now? She unlocked the car, startling the two when it beeped, and held the back door open for them with a smirk. She left it open as they got it, walking over to the driver's seat. Surely they were capable of shutting a door. Mio settled herself in the front right side. She turned to face them long enough to tell them how to fasten the seat belt. Doors closed, she turned to face the windshield.

"Ready? This will probably be worse than the helicopter. You'll probably get motion sickness… If you throw up in my car I'll kill you. Also, traffic will probably be bad too…" She stopped when she noticed that she was rambling. Inserting her key into the ignition and turning it the car purred to life. She missed the city and it's luxuries. She was on the road in no time.

"How long will this trip take?" Link asked once more. His eyes were glued to the front window.

"An hour at most. I don't live too close to the center of the city, so there shouldn't be _too_ much traffic." With that they were on the highway, other cars whizzing by. She was going slower than she'd like, but it was for their sake. She stopped herself from turning on the radio. It was better off than explaining that while driving.

Fascination overcame Link as the road was lined with various building, and sidewalk filled with pedestrians. Other cars filled the lanes. How such a feat was ever accomplished was beyond him.

"Amazing…"

"This is nothing. Wait until I get around to taking you guy into the city. It's even better at night."

She had been wrong. She forgot she had a terrible sense of time. Evening was setting and the roads were slowing down from rush hour. It only took her a half an hour to roll into the apartment parking lot. Link frowned upon exciting the car, as did Zelda. When they weren't near the ocean it smelled so… stuffy. Mio noticed their facial expressions and chuckled.

"You'll get used to it."

"Is this your home?" Zelda stared up at the massive structure. At least twenty, maybe thirty feet high. "It's huge."

"Well…" Mio started, trying to come up with an explanation. They approached its doors as she continued to talk. "It's not mine exactly. It's called an apartment. You could say it's a lot of houses packed into one building."

"Oh… I think I get it." Zelda followed Link and Mio, his eyes greedy to take in everything. From the stairwell to the hall way Mio's home was located. Only five stories up. Mio sighed happily as she waddled into her apartment. It's not that she minded travelling, and Hyrule certainly was beautiful, she love it in fact. Being home was nice though. It was the only home she had ever known. It meant she could handle her current mission the way she wanted to. Link couldn't take off into the woods, and there was no on else to preoccupy the princess.

"It's so small…" Zelda nearly whispered. "May I venture?"

"Knock yourself out." Zelda paused. What had she just told her to do? "…Yes. Go for it." Not needing anything else the princess took off in a flurry of pink fabric and sandy blond hair, giggling the whole way. "Wait! Take your shoes off!… You don't even have any slippers…"

She heard Link deposit his boots by the door before cautiously adventuring forward. She took off her own sneakers and slipped on her plain white slippers and followed him. He didn't appear to be taking in any detail, but was mapping out her home. It wasn't very big, rather open and square. He passed the kitchen and peered right to the very small hall with her computer desk at the end. He observed the door, and found a nearly bare bedroom behind it. He returned to the kitchen and walked to the open dinning area. Forward from there he found the bathroom, then the main room to the right of it. He was about to open the door to Mio's room when Zelda burst out of it. She ran off to the guest room. Link looked at Mio a hand on his heart.

"Is there really enough room for three of us?" He wondered out loud. It was obviously still such a shock to him. His eyes were distant, as if he were a hundred miles away.

"Pretty much. It's always been furnished for four." Although she's lived alone for her whole life. "But there's only two beds. I'll take the couch, Zelda can have my room. The spare room's all yours. Mio looked at the clock on the wall: 8 pm. "You look tired. You should rest, the both of you. I bet it's a big shock for you two." Link nodded numbly and went to look for Zelda. Mio followed, only to help them settle in.

Once she was on her own she found some spare blankets for the couch. Not that she'd need them in the summer heat. She wasn't even tired. It was so odd, having other people in her home. She was so used to being on her own. Something told her she was going to need to adjust; they weren't going anywhere anytime soon.

How was she supposed to do this? Human interaction was at the same level as her math skills: Poor. _Suck it up Mio. How hard can it be? They're nearly adult, probably adults in their culture, they look about the same age as me. It's not like I'm dealing with children. Hell, one of them is a ruler of a country._ Mio took in a cleansing breath She'd live. Right now she needed to tend to her neglected home. It had gotten dusty in her absence.

Something smelled good. Really good. Slowly Link sat up, his eyes still shut, and his nose working to try and find the source of the delightful aroma. He opened his eyes to a dark room he couldn't recognise. Mio's spare bedroom. In moments his eyes adjusted and he made his way to the door. His stomach ached and only now did he realize that he hadn't eaten all day. Light poured into the small hallway, coming from the kitchen. It was also the source of the smell.

His stiff legs staggered their way to the kitchen. Mio was leaning in the corner of her wooden counter top, by the sink. She was turned away slightly. From what he could see she had a bowl and two small sticks in her hands. Curious as to why it was so bright Link carried on his observations. There was no candle or colour of flames on the blue walls. No lanterns on the counter, no fire of any sort. Odd contraptions and containers decorated the counter, but none of them produced any light. Link looked up and regretted it. He was nearly blinded immediately causing him to stumble. Mio must have been watching since he could hear her laughing. Eventually the spots left his vision and his eyes settled the grimacing Mio. She was trying to hold back her laughter.

"Mind explaining?"

"Um. That's a tough one. Well, it's called electricity. It powers everything, including lights. Candles were outdated decades ago. Yes it's safe, just don't go staring at the light bulb."

"I have to ask, what are you eating?" Mio looked down at her half empty bowl then back at Link.

"_Udon_. It was something quick, and I was hungry. Really common in Japan. If you want some there's plenty in the pot. Bowls are under the counter behind you. Forks are in the first drawer in under there." She pointed to the drawer." It didn't take long before Link was leaning on the counter, bowl in hand, a ways from Mio. She wasn't surprised that he began eating so quickly, but she couldn't stop her frown.

"You know, we do have traditions here." He looked up at her, bright blue eyes wide as he waited for her to elaborate. "It's custom to be grateful for food. To show this we say thank you before and after eating. Before a meal we say _itadakimasu_. After eating it's _gochisosma."_

"Idatakimasu?" One of her hands reached out to slap him on top of his head. He flinched.

"No. 'I-ta-da-ki-masu.'"

"Geez, sorry. It's just all so different."

"Now you know how I felt in Hyrule." _True. I guess she has a point._ He looked down at the thick noodles in his bowl. He _really just wanted to eat._

"_Do I have to say it?" He was pretty sure that no mater what she'd say he was doing it wrong._

"_If you're going to be living under my roof you do. You also have to teach everything I teach you to Zelda. I hate repeating myself."_

"_Idatakimasu."_

"_You're doing it wrong."_


	9. Chapter 08

Legends: Chapter Eight

"Link, promise me you won't freak out." He watched the short girl approach the odd, nearly flat box. He had become unbearably curious ever since his jet-lag had worn off. Mio had quickly learned that he was a very nosy creature by nature.

"Why would I freak out?"

"Alright, no. We're making some ground rules. Ruled number one; never touch the TV. Rule number two; you can't save or help or talk to the people on the screen, nor can they hear you." Link's brows furrowed in confusion. There were people stuck in that thing? "Rule number three; don't scream when I turn the TV on. Understood?" Link slowly nodded his head. There was a small clicking sound and a quick flash across the screen. Next came a voice, a man speaking in a language that he couldn't comprehend. Mio joined him on the futon, a slender black object cradled in her right gloved hand.

Slowly an image appeared through the darkness of the screen. Along the bottom and left side of the screen symbols scrolled by. He had never seen them before. They moved sluggishly allowing the viewer to read it. A man and a woman sat at a desk, each speaking in turn.

Mio held her laughter as Link's expression developed. His eyebrows were furrowed, nearly forcing them to touch. His cobalt eyes were squinted as he tried to interpret specific details, though she knew he was hopeless to do so. His jaw lay open and grimaced at the same time. Disbelief, shock, disgust, surprise, confusion. He stayed glued that way, even as she began to explain. The only way she knew that was even paying her any attention was the slight twitch of the ear.

"Dare I try to explain? Alright, um, there's a device that can make copies out of what's in front of it and record them. It is then sent all over the world using satellites, so we can watch them on TV. That's the simplest way I can put it."

Link's mouth clenched shut as he leaned back, as if coming to some sort of conclusion. "So, they aren't real?"

"Well, the people exist in real life, but the images are copies, you could say. One minute." Mio got up and grabbed something in the cabinet under the TV. She returned to her spot beside him and opened the case she had fetched. Her hand held out a flat, shiny circle for him to observe. "This is a disk, or a DVD. It's what images can be stored on. Well, one of the things. Television is kinda hard to explain." She placed the disk back in its case.

"It's like a moving painting of a play."

"Yeah, I guess that's close." There was a pause. "You know you have to explain this to Zelda when she gets out of the tub, right?" The princess was quickly becoming accustomed to the luxuries of the twenty-first century. She didn't ask questions like Link, rather, she went with the flow.

Link frowned at the idea of having to try and explain something he didn't quite comprehend himself, but a deal was a deal. So long as he explained what he knew to Zelda, he could ask all the questions he wanted.

"He's speaking Japanese, right?" He didn't even try to suppress the random question. He did, however, regret it when Mio shot him an unimpressed glance.

"No, of course not." Sarcasm dripped from every syllable. "He's speaking Irish. She knew it wasn't an actual language, but it was the first thing she though of. He ignored her statement.

"What is he talking about?"

"The usual. The weather, car crashes, news around Tokyo. He's going on about oil prices now."

Link continued to watch the man speak in a language that sounded like complete gibberish. Every now and again the woman would talk, or the screen would skip to someone else.

"The clothing here is so… odd." He stated without thinking. Mio's eyes shifted to his clothes. Puffy brown pants, white shirt with multiple layers, belly warmer…

"Actually, clothing like that is common nearly everywhere but where you're from. Technically, Hyrule has odd clothing. Which means we'll have to go shopping if I plan on taking you guys anywhere. Zelda would never fit in my clothes either. She's much taller than me."

"How different is your marketplace?" Mio did not grace him with a sufficient answer, rather she laughed at him.

Zelda remained glued to the window as the streets of Tokyo whipped by. Link, on the other hand, observed the inside of her Suzuki Swift. She still hadn't tried to show them the radio. She'd rather expose them to music first. Link kept her busy by asking a question or two about every button, pedal, and part. She'd hit him if she weren't navigating a highway at 120 mph.

The princess visibly froze with anticipation as the car slowed steadily, and the streets of Tokyo closed in around them. People crowded the side walks as usual, closer to each other than sardines in a can. Bright shops offered what they could, most of them filled with customers.

"Is this the marketplace?" Amazement overwhelmed her voice. "This is outstanding!"

"Sorta. We still have a little ways to go to get where I wanna go." As they approached the glistening, towering glass structure Mio smirked at every ooh or ahh Zelda uttered. Today would prove entertaining. Hopefully to the point where Mio could forget the fact that they were shopping.

"So many people. How's this even possible?" Link glanced down at the ground as he scrutinized the floors strength. With so much weight on the floor, well into the double digit floors, wouldn't the floor cave in? Plus the weight of the shops and the merchandise.

"I'm trying to show you the modern world and you're concerned with the floor?" Zelda nodded in compliance with Mio. The princess had already picked out various shops she'd like to visit, and she wouldn't have anyone ruin, or delay her plans. Link continued to test the floor, by tapping it with the tip of his worn boots and jumping on it. If his odd clothes didn't attract enough attention. His actions made up for it.

"Come on! Before I grab you by your absurd ears and drag you!" Link hesitantly obeyed, but didn't fail to mutter a sharp retort.

"If you fall through the floor, don't come crying to me." Mio stopped in her slow tracks and faced the blond boy. A scowl was plain as day on her face.

"Did you just call me fat?" Link stalled. In a way, yes, but not purposely. He shrugged, neither confirming or denying the insult. Mio quickly let it go, she didn't need to make a scene when they were already the main attraction.

Leading the two to a clothing store, Mio quickly set to work on the princess. She was a thin girl, but would never fit in Mio's clothes due to being more… developed… and taller. Mio laid her hands on a size six pair of jeans.

"No, I have a distaste for pants." The princess grimaced at the rough blue material. "Surely your people have dresses." Mio's eyebrow shot up at the words 'your people'. She was sure she didn't mean to offend, but it still didn't sound right.

"Well, duh. Don't expect anything like you're wearing though."

"Why not?" Mio's patience was already being spread thin, and it was only the first ten minutes.

"Because it's… expensive and outlandish. We don't wear flowing gowns here. It isn't practical." Mio moved over to the dress display on the back wall. "Look through these and come get me when you think you've found your size. Link, come with me." He didn't budge. His eyes were locked onto a woman. She held out a cell phone in front of her in an attempt to get a picture of the blond; who looked much like a deer caught in a set of headlights. "She's not going to hurt you, now c'mon." Mio grasped his arm and yanked him away. She was going to have a harder time helping the two foreigners out than she initially thought.

As Mio lounged on her puffed blue couch, now her designated bed, she felt herself beginning to relax. She always held a hatred for crowded places, such as malls, and it felt great to be home after a five hour fiasco with several pictures taken by strangers.

Mio could not suppress a grin as Zelda twirled her way into the room. The white, strapless summer dress she wore flared around her knees. The fabric flowed easily, resembling a thick winter storm. Her sandy hair was tied back with a light purple ribbon, laced intricately with the blond threads. She had just gotten out of the shower and discovered the wonders of heavily perfumed shampoo. The scent of coconuts gently wafted into the room with every delicate step forward.

"This place is amazing!" Zelda took a seat beside Mio. Her hands were playing with the cotton dress, testing the feel and texture. "What are we going to do now?" Mio's grin grew as Zelda's voice rose with enthusiasm. She was like a kid in a candy store, and everything was half-off.

"Dunno. We'll figure it out when Link gets out of the shower." She was debating on taking out her stereo, something she was slowly dying without. Living alone had its perks, as in she could constantly listen to her music. It shouldn't be too hard to explain, it wasn't too different from a headset.

When the male Hylian emerged from the bathroom, adorned in tan cargo pants and a green t-shirt Mio left to fetch her small stereo. When she returned the two guests were chatting happily in their native tongue. As she stood there unnoticed the two picked at their new garments. It was safe to assume the subject was the strangeness of the odd clothing.

Mio cleared her throat. Two blond heads snapped in unison to look at her with blue eyes. They watched silently as she plugged in the small black box. Small symbols were etched into button and Link's attention was caught immediately. He crouched beside her on the floor, eyes glued to the buttons.

The box had obviously been painted over, as some sections had flaked to reveal silver beneath it. On each side was two large mesh circles. That didn't maintain his attention for long. He wanted to know what each of the shiny silver buttons did. Mio pushed in a button and a door on top of the box popped open like a hatch. Inside was silver with small bronze coloured parts. She placed a thin disk into it and it locked securely into place. The latch was shut.

"Alright, don't freak out when I start this thing. It's a stereo. It plays music… music you've never heard, and will probably startle you. Geez, it sounds like I'm talking to children…" Without further interruption Mio flicked on the stereo. She decided to start with something simple; piano music. She always had a thing for piano, not that it was the music she often listened to.

"So, it's like a music box?" Zelda questioned. Her eyes shifted between Mio and the stereo, obviously excited by the simplest of things.

"Mostly, except you don't have to crank it. You can also pause, stop, or change the music with the push of a button. This is actually kind of out-dated, but I love this thing to death." From there Link took control of all the questioning. He _needed_ to know what all the little knobs did. He had a peculiar soft spot for music; soft spot being a drastic understatement.

She carefully went over every button, stating the symbol and its functions. She even let them toy with it, almost mentioning that they looked like too monkeys with a large rock, but held her tongue. It was too funny, really. As the two chatted to each other in Hylian they were like children.

"What instrument is it?" Link inquired. He had finished playing with the new "toy" and was looking for more knowledge to sucker out of her.

"Piano."

"I've never heard one played before. They're rare in Hyrule."

"There's a lot you haven't heard before…" She regretted the muttered sentence the moment it left her mouth. Link's face lit up with an unsaid question, but there was no _way_ she could possibly explain every instrument. She didn't know everything.

"Like what?" She didn't want to jump into the thought she just had, but it would make her life so much easier.

"Well… Give me a minute. I have an idea." Mio disappeared into her bedroom for a moment then reappeared with a flat, purple contraption. The rectangular prism was set on the floor, and plugged into the wall beside the stereo cord. It opened up like a chest, revealing a black screen on the top part, and various buttons with symbols he couldn't decipher covering the bottom section. "This is my laptop. If you break it, you're dead. Alright?" By now Zelda had migrated from the couch to sit at Mio's left; Link resided on her right. The stereo continued to play her music, _River Flows in you_ by the South Korean artist _Yiruma_. "This is… well… Dammit." She couldn't think of a sufficient explanation. "This is some of the most complicated technology of today. It basically does _almost_ anything. You can play games on it, keep track of the days, time, ecetera. You can create art with it, basically anything. Most importantly it connects to the internet. Er… It's a world-wide communication system. You can get _any_ information and talk with someone on the other side of the world." She paused only to let them soak up what she was saying. Without hesitation she pressed the power button. "Judging by what I've seen Hyrule has postmen. We still have a postal system, but very important information can be transferred between people within seconds using one of these."

There was a long silent pause as the two stared at the screen as it loaded itself up. "Just how big is the world?" Link wondered absently aloud. As Mio ticked away at the keys the screen changed. It reminded him of the television, but he figured everything on this was not 'pre-recorded' as Mio had put it. Everything was written in an awkward language.

"Is that Japanese?" Zelda voiced his question as she'd read his mind.

"Yeah, it can get rather complicated." When Zelda looked at her expectantly she stopped typing in order to explain further. They were just laying the subjects on her today, weren't they? "There are four different ways to write in Japanese, but we use only three. _Romanji_, which we don't use, is Japanese written with English letter. _Katakana _is used for foreign words, and _Hiragana _for everything else. Then there's _Kanji_, Chinese lettering used for the sake of saving space. It's mostly used with _Hiragana_, but we mainly use _Kanji_." Both of them stared at her in utter confusion. She didn't notice as she brought up a map of the world on her laptop screen.

"As for the world, here it is. There's seven continents." She pointed out each region as she said them. "There's North America, South America, Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia, and Antarctica. Japan is in Asia, and is right here." She zoomed in to the collection of islands that was her home. "Looks small right? Although small in landmass, it has the most populated city, or close to that, in the world. And you're sitting in it. Now, for the instrument thingy…" Mio swiftly pulled up _Youtube_ and searched the evolution of music. She settled on a documentary in English. "Sit here and watch this. _Don't touch anything._ I'm going out to get some food." The two eagerly did as told.

Ah, how she loved living only a moments walk from her favourite Korean restaurant. She had found the small shop by chance, and though it was a little pricy, Mio had the money to spare. She settled for some simple stir-fry and rice cake soup. For the foreigners she grabbed some simple sushi and rice.

Wanting some time for herself Mio walked the long way home, a maze of winding alleys away from the bustle of Tokyo life. She had run into trouble a couple of times down the alleys, but Mio was the type of person to search out trouble; then pummel the every living life out of it. Along the way she stopped by a sweet shop, owned by a kind American couple, to purchase some strawberry cheesecake. Mio had a distinct love for western desserts that weren't particularly healthy.

Deciding she didn't want the cake to get all gross and soggy by the time she reached home, Mio took a short cut through a wider alley. The voice of a man stopped her dead in her tracks. She should have known today wasn't going to go her way. _He_ always made sure to keep her on her toes.

"Well, aren't you the defiant one. Couldn't keep your mission within the confines of Hyrule?" Mio spun to face her employer; Hiver. He was dressed in his usual: A black cloak that covered every inch of his being. He hovered just inches above the ground, his presence was impossible to sense. Hiver gave no hint to just how much power he held. The Spirit of Time was not the type to flaunt his abilities; most days. "Aren't you daring?"

"What the hell do you want?" She snapped. The last thing she wanted was to put up with was his bullshit.

"Now, now. It isn't intelligent to talk in such an awful manner to a deity, now is it? I'll be blunt, I'm here to assign a little... side quest." He finished his sentence with a genuine smile. Mio's patience level dropped from cranky to flat-out-fed-up.

"You're shitting me, right?" She could hear the smile in Hiver's tone.

"Of course not! I'm a busy man, I don't have time to joke around." Which was a lie since he controlled time, therefore had all the time in the world. "I need you to find something. It's rather important that this object doesn't fall into the wrong hands."

"Why don't you go get it your goddamn self if its so fucking important."

"My, my, the language! You know why, I've told you plenty of times before. I'm not repeating myself. Now, details. It's in Chernobyl, Russia. Don't know how it got there... Well, I do, but... anyway, I'll give you a map with the exact location. It's in your room actually. You'll know what it is when you find it. Oh. Did I mention Link and Zelda have to go with you? I think I did." The Spirit vanished as Mio flew into a cussing spree.

Zelda watched cautiously from across the table as everyone ate. Something was off about Mio, she just knew it. The other girl was stiffer and more silent than usual since she had returned. She used the minimal amount of words needed when she had turned off the laptop and passed out supper. She looked ready to snap. Link appeared oblivious to the impending doom, and continuously babbled about which instruments he'd like to learn. It wasn't like him to speak so much. His mind was most likely having a melt-down over taking in too much information.

"Link." Zelda whispered. She was afraid to let him anger the beast but wished to draw no attention to herself. Link failed to hear her. "Link." She uttered slightly louder. He heard her this time and clicked his jaw shut.

"Yes?" He asked after a moment. He seemed to notice the silence at the table now that he was through talking. Was there something wrong?

"I think you should eat." He blinked at her for a moment. Was she kindly telling him to shut up? He had been talking quite a bit...

"I'm sorry. I was being rude, wasn't I?"

"No, no!" Zelda waved her petite hands in front of her. "The food is getting cold, that's all!" A snort sounded from the third member at the table.

"That's sort of ironic, I was about to ask you guys if you minded the cold." Link gave a visible shiver as Zelda put on her pondering face.

"Well," the princess started. "it's not very cold in Hyrule. It hasn't snowed in centuries, except for up high in the mountains. No one goes up there though. How cold are we speaking?"

"Oh, well, I think we should get some winter gear then."

"Why?" Zelda cocked her head to the side. Her loose blond her fell over her shoulder.

"We're going to Russia tomorrow, it's pretty far up north. Shouldn't be too bad really. Hiver, the one who sent me to Hyrule, wants me to find something there. I hope to be there less than a day. We'll be staying in a place we won't be welcomed in, so yea... this should be fun."

"Why must we go?" Zelda didn't like this idea one bit.

"I can't leave you here on your own. Not yet, anyway. Well, I'm going to bed. I'll be on the futon if you need me." Mio left without room to speak. Her food remained untouched.

"I hate the cold..." Link whispered in Hylian. Zelda switched languages upon hearing her native tongue.

"I'm sure it won't be so bad... It's only a day, right?"

"True, but we should rest anyway." The princess nodded in agreement.

_Dearest Mio,_

_I lied. It seems I was 'wrong' about the location of the ever so important object. It would seem its in an Organization facility in the Artic. My bad. Anyway, attached is the map I promised, and inside your store room you'll find all the gear you require. I know you have... issues with the Organization, so if I were you I'd pack some heat. Ha ha! Get it? Heat? Because you'll be in the Artic? I'm positive you're giggling away._

_-Hiver_

To say that Mio was enthralled with the change of events was a largely exaggerated overstatement. She was downright frustrated, borderline savage. She discovered the little note while fetching her pyjamas. Since reading it she knew sleep would not come easy, and instead Mio settled upon her couch, grabbed a slice of cheesecake, and whipped out her _Xbox 360._ Luckily the Hylians had escaped to an early sleep, leaving her to do as she pleased. The last thing she needed to do was attempt to explain video games.

Somehow violent war games from the West had become her latest phase, forcing her to abandon her dozens of _Pokémon _games. She couldn't remember the last time she had held her handheld. The allure of prestige and the cold war was much stronger. Maybe it had something to do with her aggressive nature. Mio failed to notice when a certain blond boy shuffled into the main room, groggy and curious.

Link's tired cobalt eyes remained glued to the screen as nothing he could fathom flitted across the screen. He tried to understand on his own. It appeared that people were dying, that it was all fake, but other than that everything else sailed over his head. Everything that transpired made very little sense. What in the world was a huey? Frustrated, Link finally spoke up.

"What in the name of the goddesses is going on?" Mio flinched and sprang to her feet, tossing her sleek black remote in the process. The china plate that held only a fork and some graham crumbs clattered to the hardwood floor, but managed to stay in one piece. The screen stopped changing angles and only a wall was visible. Mio sucked in a sharp breath before turning to face him, her jaw tightly clenched. Link felt a tinge of fear seep in. She was going to be furious at him for sneaking up on her like that.

"For fucks sake don't sneak up on me like that!" An odd, almost metallic, repetitive noise came from the TV, followed by a pained male scream. She screen changed, with the header labelled 'kill cam'. "Dammit! You just got me killed! I was only one away from my dogs..." The blond stared at her in utter confusion, and she knew nothing she said made any sense to him.

"...What?" Mio sighed heavily before retrieving her controlling and flopping ungracefully onto the couch.

"Alright. This is a video game. I'm currently playing with eleven other people around the world. It's a, well... game. The object is to kill the other players who aren't on your team. I control this person, with this." She held up the remote to where he could see it behind the couch, then moved the responding character in a quick circle. "Understood?"

"Sure?" _No, he didn't._ Mio sighed, this time in exasperation.

"I'm not explaining anymore. You can sit and watch _quietly_ if you want." He decided it couldn't hurt and planted himself beside her. It wasn't long before he started questioning her again, despite her clear warning to remain silent.

"How are you killing them with that thing?" Mio groaned in frustration as she died once more. She didn't miss the act that she was being teabagged in her kill cam. She snidely muttered about his ignorance, but answered anyway.

"You _had to pick that question, huh blondie? It's called a gun. You could call it an advanced rapid-fire bow that launches small metal shells instead of arrows. Twenty times faster, at the push of a button. But that's just a rough guess."_

_Link grimaced at the thought and stared at the screen with a twang of disgust. "That sounds... monstrous." To kill so mercilessly, not having to truly see those you killed, it was almost ignorant._

_"Meh. It keeps me entertained. Now can I play without you interrupting me?" He looked at her with distaste, but held his tongue._

_Modern warfare was proving to be cruel and unorthodox. Inhumane, even. Casualties must be unbelievably high, the battlefields body infested. These methods made killing much too simple. There was no eye contact at such distances. Even with bow and arrows there was always some form of contact. How was such a thing amusing? Then again, no one was being hurt._

_"Your home is weird."_

_"You ain't seen nothing yet."_


	10. Chapter 09

Legends: Chapter Nine

"I'll be back here this time tomorrow. I don't want to keep the helicopter in the cold for too long. Take your time. See you around." Kenta frowned at the gently falling snow. Most of it was created by the whirling helicopter blades. Mio frowned back, displeased by his offer. She looked smaller than usual, bunched up in white winter gear.

"See you." Good, she wasn't going to argue. "You better show up." Her pilot only gave her a curt nod. He had never been one for too many words. As the helicopter took to the air uplifts of snow engulfed her and the small shack, where Link and the princess resided in. She could already smell the fire she had demanded Link start.

The inside was just barely beginning to warm, but upon entering she was grateful for the good sized fire he had started. Despite all of her travelling Mio had never been very good with nature. The two were huddled in the corner, teeth chattering.

"Shut the door!" Link's voice was muffled beneath his scarf and jacket but she heard him clearly enough. She slammed it, just to make him jump. "Th-thank you." She could hear the frost in his voice. Zelda shot her an apologetic glance. She shouldn't be trying to make excuses for the boy.

"Is this Russia?" The princess asked quietly. She returned her line of sight to the only window in the fishing shack. A lost look overcame her delicate features. "It looks bare and flat."

Mio settled across the fire from them, her back to the door. "No." Both sets of bright blue eyes snapped to her. She took them somewhere else? Without telling them? "Russia is actually pretty nice in the summer. Hiver decided that the object was in the Artic instead. It's always cold here. I advise you try to keep as warm as possible."

"How long must we stay here?" Zelda blatantly snuggled closer to Link. In his frigid state he had no objection toward the action.

"Just the night. We'll leave tomorrow morning for the lab. It's only a half an hour walk away." Mio smirked at Link when he visibly shivered. Oh yes, this whole situation was just one big mess.

"And we have to walk through _that_?" He gestured his thumb to the window.

"Oh suck it up." Link curled further into himself, clearly unwilling to deal with her. If Mio didn't know any better she'd say he was part cat.

Honestly, she didn't want to put them through this. Not for their sake, but her own. They'd only be in the way. Or worse, get killed. Working on her own was Mio's strongest point, as was hunting down the Organization and their scandals. If it weren't for the safe room in the facility that Hiver had been gracious enough to point out on the map, she wouldn't know what to do with them. Keeping them in the fishing shack like wild animals would only give them frostbite or hypothermia. Those were the last things she wanted to treat.

For now, she'd cuddle up in her parka and sleeping bag with her _DS _and abandoned _Pokémon _games. Hopefully the other two would be able to sleep enough to make it through the next twenty-four hours.

Mio was pleasantly surprised by the next day's weather. Sure it was still well below freezing point, but it was a fine, calm day with no bone chilling wind. The Hyrulians didn't see why she approved of the weather. It was freezing. Link shivered the entire way. He would have complained if it didn't feel like his lips were frozen shut in a permanent line.

He remained absolutely silent as they continued to trudge through the snow. His legs moved awkwardly over each drift; they were numb and itching, each movement its own displeasure. His boyish face was red from the cold and Link fought, none too successfully to contain his sniffles. Each inhale of the artic air burned his lungs. The air held too little moisture regardless of being knee deep in snow. He had never been this cold in his life, and it was a horrible first impression of snow.

Yet, he held his complaints in. Mio would only ignore him or tell him to shut up. Its not that she was a dreadful person. Sure, she was rude and rough around the edges, but she at least helped them enough to get by. She didn't _have_ to teach them about the modern world, but she still did. Though, a little sympathy couldn't hurt.

As they ascended to the top of a hill their destination came into view. Link was flooded with relief, and for a moment it was easier to breathe. The building was more so a three story steel box, the only accessible window rested on the top floor. He could taste the warmth that must linger inside. His legs moved faster with a sense of hope. He was about to leap into a sprint, a mad dash for heat, when he found himself tossed face-first into the snow. When he managed lift himself, Mio was frowning down at him. A curious Zelda glanced at him, as if she hadn't witnessed Mio throwing him like a rag doll.

"What do you think you're doing? You're nuts if you think you can just jog in there." She didn't help him to his feet, but waited patiently for him to get up. "Listen closely. The people in there don't want us there. Fact: Every last one of them wants _me_ dead. Now, we'll be grappling to the third floor. I'll be going up first to help you two up. We're going up on the East side where there's only one window. It'll lead us into the safe room. Unless Hiver lied about that too. Come on."

They continued their walk in a wide circle, cautiously making their way to the safest side. There was a distinct lack of guards.

"If they don't want anyone around, why is there such minimum security?" Link thought he seen a small smirk grace her features.

"Because no one is supposed to know about this place. And if this place doesn't exist, who would guard it? The Organization is so cocky in their own minds that they think they can get away without having to pay for extra workers. Besides, by the time I'm through here no one will have to worry about it."

Link's eyes jumped up from his white boots to the back of Mio's head. What had she meant by that? Her voice had held a tone of malice. It was anything but reassuring. He couldn't dwell on that thought for long as they came to a stop beside the eastern wall. The promise of warmth in a matter of moments took hold of any thought his mind managed to produce.

Mio caught his attention, breaking his gaze with the window. She was whipping a hook about with an expert's grace. One flick of the wrist and the hook whizzed upward and clung to the window's ledge. She tugged on it roughly, ensuring it was secure. Hiver hadn't lied, the room was left for her to take. He even left the window open for her.

"I'll help you up in a minute. Zelda should go after me since she'll struggle the most. Besides, if she falls you'll have to catch her." Mio didn't have to look to know Link understood. No other word was given before the smaller girl tied the rope around her wrist and began to climb the wall; one hand over the other, legs placed firmly on the wall. It was as if she did this every other weekend. Not a minute had passed before she was in the window.

Zelda released a low whimper. How could she possibly pull this off? To hang from the hook seemed dangerous enough, but to _climb_ up a wall seemed nearly impossible. She knew very well that she was the weakest of the small group. The physical strength to do this was not in her skill set.

"Ready?" Mio called as lightly as possible. She untied the hook from the rope swiftly. "I'll pull you up." A rush of air left her lungs. Thank the goddesses, she didn't have to make a fool of herself in front of Link. The rope fell ungracefully before her and was given a hand from Link in tying it around her petite waist. Her hands grasped the coarse rope, her nervousness showed through white knuckles. She was grateful for the thick white gloves. The rope would have bit harshly into her skin otherwise.

Above, Mio settled one foot against the wall and both hands were secured around the rope. She knew for a fact that the princess wasn't very heavy and pulling her up would be a breeze. When the princess was secure Mio began to heave her up inch by inch. It wasn't so bad, the process only took a couple of minutes at most. Once at the top Mio pulled her in by the arms and the heat of the room enveloped her.

"You good?" Mio evaluated the princess quickly, but turned away when she received a nod. Without missing a beat the rope was thrown to Link. He took less time, as he climbed as she pulled. He only had one thing to say upon entering the room.

"W-warmth!"

"Quiet." Mio quickly shut the window and sent him a sour look. "No ones using this room, that doesn't mean they can't hear you." He was a bout to give her a snide retort but it died upon his tongue. Without a care in the world Mio stripped off her white winter suit. Beneath it she wore a tight pair of pants and a grey tank top. If stripping wasn't indecent enough, what she wore was. From the Kokiri pouch at her side she withdrew a pair of flat sneakers and proceeded to put them on. She ignored the looks from the Hyrulians.

Mio waited patiently for the other two to warm up. Unlike them she had no issue with the cold. Winter was her favourite season. They took longer than she liked, but decided not to comment on it. Zelda was the first to shed her parka, Link not too far behind her.

"Zelda, you'll have to stay here. No one will be coming to this room, and I'll lock it just in case. You'll know when its me knocking. As for you," she turned to the blond in question "you're coming with me. You think I can't handle myself, that you're a better fighter than me? Lets see how you fare in a day of my life, hm?" That was a challenge. He took the bait swiftly.

Mio crouched beside the door for a moment, listening intently through the steel. She reached for her Kokiri pouch and pulled out the last thing he wanted to see her holding; a gun. It was smaller than the ones in her games. It shone with a bright silver sheen. It was obviously well taken care of.

"What are you planning on doing with that?"

"Listen and listen close, Blondie. Hyrule may be enjoying its peaceful days, but the rest of the world has always, _always_, been at war. Those people out there, they're the enemy, whether the world knows it or not." Link stood faster than she'd seen him move before. He kept his voice low but harsh.

"No, no, no. You don't plan on killing someone, do you?" She couldn't, there was no way. Not a human life. It's something he'd never done, swore never to do. It was wrong. She was wrong.

"Yes I do. They'd kill me in a heartbeat, its only fair." She stood facing him. Despite her lack of height she tried her best to seem intimidating. "You haven't a clue. The world is a harsh, cold place. It'd kill you in seconds. The people here are no better than monsters, corrupted by greed and power. You haven't seen half the things I have, but I don't need to explain myself to you. You'll see it all for yourself." She had pulled out another object, a mask. Something sparked in his mind but he suppressed. It was expertly crafted, painted all white with a few red lines. Mio caught his stare and sighed before explaining.

"They've never figured out who I really am yet. I wear this to keep my identity safe, and well, its sort of a calling card. I'm known as No Name. Lets just say I'm infamous, shall we?" She tied it beneath her hair, securing it into place. "You should be fine, you're not registered anywhere in the modern world. They can't track you down." Link didn't know what that meant, but he nodded in agreement. "Come on, lets get this over with. It'll be easier to find the damn thing if there's two of us. At least you're nimble..." Mio took a quick peek outside of the room before slinking through. Link fastened his sword tighter, lowering it to be hidden completely behind his back. A gentle hand stopped him before he could leave.

Zelda stared at him in concern. "Be careful."

"I know." He didn't want to go really, now that he knew Mio's true intentions, but arguing would only waste time and she was right. The sooner they found what they were looking for, the better. "There's some food in the pouch I left. Stay safe."

Mio manoeuvred faster than he had expected. She was already down a hallway, crouched beside a turn. The entire place felt foreign. The white walls, the white linoleum floor, the sterile air. It too felt just as wrong as Mio's plans. The girl in question signalled for him to draw closer. He crouched beside her, back pressed to the wall.

"Be as silent as possible and follow my every movement." Her voice sounded odd behind her mask. Her hand laid calmly over the pistol at her side. "We need to get down to the second basement floor. The elevator is too risky..." Link barely recalled the glass room from the mall that went up and down. "The stairs are our only option." She peered around the corner; clear.

She motioned for Link to follow and made a break for the stairs. They made it down the first two sets safely, but paused at the top of the third set leading to the basement.

"There are people down there. You can stay here while I clear out the area." As she made her way to move Link's hand came down on her shoulder, holding her in place. She took a moment to stare at his hand, then him. What did he think he was doing?

"Please don't kill anyone. It isn't right..." She grimaced at him. Why couldn't he understand?

"Link." Her firm voice prompted him to remove his hold from her person. "These aren't people. They don't deserve your compassion, or anyone else's for that matter. Excuse me." She left him in the middle of the stairwell. She could tolerate his dislike of killing people, she had been that way at some point. How old had she been, nine? It didn't take her long to learn it was a dog eat dog world, and when a dog refused to fight they were deemed useless. A useless dog is taken out back to be disposed of, they offered nothing in life.

She pressed a sensitive ear to the cold steel door. There were voices chattering on the other side. If she had to give a guess she'd say they were Finnish. That was the thing about the Organization, every country had a part in it. Although the words were lost on her she was able to pick out five distinct voices. There could be, and most likely were, more of them. She tightened the silencer on her pistol and clicked off the safety. In one swift motion she stood and kicked in the door.

The scrapping of metal and the light clapping of Mio's shoes startled the scientists within. She'd already shot down four of them by the time the door had slammed shut once more and the only sound was the barely audible gun shots. Mio stood atop of a desk, holding the last living man at gun point. He stammered on his broken English words, too shocked to scream.

"N-no Name...!"

"Surprised?" Mio cocked her head, but the man couldn't see her disgusted expression. She could see the fear in the man's eyes clearly. Death had kicked down his door, and was holding him by his collar. "So what is it that you do here?"

The man stiffened. His skin was practically glowing with how white he had gone, but he held his ground. His brown eyes sparked with defiance. Mio's own eyes narrowed dangerously behind her mask.

"None of business!" She shot him point blank between the eyes and let his body drop. She didn't have time for insolence. She'd find the files eventually. Papers and files were thrown as she tried to find anything specific. If only everything wasn't written in German. As if the whole operation wasn't fishy enough she could hear a commotion below her, and they weren't making a break for the stairs or elevator. She stopped only to listen more intently. Shuffling, gasping, moaning, screaming and the faintest hint of beeping.

_Lets sum this up Mio. They're in the Artic, where no one can reach them, they're Finnish, but everything is written in German and they have an extensive basement system, with ten underground floors. This could result badly if this is what I think it is._

She had encountered similar facilities before with similar statistics. From here on it was bound to get very gruesome, very fast. The Organization may be government funded, but that meant nothing. They were scum that resorted to the dirtiest of things, even if the public, and most time the government themselves, are blind to it. They were especially notorious for human experiments. Such an underground, out of the way facility as this one was often used for that.

She gathered all the files she could and stuffed them into her pouch. She'd hand them over to Kenta, he always had people looking for such things. Until then she'd assume the worst. Peering through the door she had entered she signalled Link in. "Try not to look at the ground."

"Why?" He knew why, but the question was spoken regardless. Maybe he was wrong? From the corner of his eye he spotted a splotch of red liquid and a hand poked out from behind the desk. His vision jumped to the ceiling. She did though...

"Just trust me on it. Follow me closely." He did as told, too ill to disobey. They came to the opposing door. How many had she...? He didn't dare finish that thought. He knew she was a hardened person, but this was a bit much. She was too calm about it. That fact was enough to disturb him.

"There's a hall behind this door. It'll lead to another hall and from there we have take an elevator. I can't guarantee what's down there or that we'll get away unscathed. Ready? We're running the whole way. Keep up, will you?" Mio threw the door open and took off running. He stood, still in shock, for a moment before realizing he was supposed to be following. She was fast having already reached the next turn before he began to stride after her.

The screeching of his shoes losing grip echoed through the white halls. For a second he felt like he was flying, then he realized he was falling. _Then_ he realized this certainly wasn't his day. Link's back made contact with the hard floor first, his scabbard dug into his spin and then the pain quickly spread to his skull. It evaporated quickly, leaving only the feeling of being wet. For a moment, only a small, short moment, he thought he had wet himself. He sat up in a flash and evaluated himself, eyes wide. He barely spotted Mio jogging toward him. Blood. The thick fluid covered the floor and him. It was seeping through the door to his left. He turned sharply to Mio. She looked almost as surprised.

"You didn't...?" Was it her doing? No, she couldn't have. She ran straight. She shook her head, then moved to evaluate the door. There was no audible movement behind it, but something was there. The blood was fresh, it hadn't been noticeable when she had taken off.

"Are you alright?" She whispered. He only nodded numbly, regarding her with oddly focused eyes. "Stay as quiet as possible." He crouched onto his feet. She too was low to the ground, a gloved hand resting on the doorknob. "I'll go in. You should stay here for now and try to get some of that blood off." Her voice remained steady, calm. She snuck into the room, closing the door behind her.

She scuffled behind the nearest desk. A thick blood trail lead around it. If someone was here they would have heard Link slip. They may have mistaken him as an employee but still. Mio readied her pistol. She ghosted around the desk and spotted the source of the red liquid. A man laid clearly dead, his bare chest was burst open. Bones stuck out around the gapping hole, the inside still held all of the organs, though they were squish into the back. Blood was still pouring in a low stream from the wound. She averted her eyes. He was dead, he held no interest. She needed to find anything that may still be living. The room was simply empty. There was nothing. Bare floors, white walls, single ceiling light on a white ceiling; she might as well have been in a wider hallway.

"D-don't move!" The man's voice came from behind her. _Dammit. I forgot my corners. I'll be lucky if I only get shot once._ "You're that girl, No Name, right? Put your hands where I can see them!" Mio dropped her pistol and complied. Her steady hands rose to stop against her head.

"Very good." She complimented. "You're English is pretty good too. Let me guess, you're American?"

"Canadian."

"Whatever. Mind telling me what happened?" Her snippy request went unanswered. Silence was all that greeted her. "Hello?"

"It's none of your business." Oh. So he knew what was going on. "The Organization has a really high price on your head. You shouldn't have interfered." He was joking right? She snorted at him.

"That's where you're wrong, this is my business. You're pretty naive, especially for someone the Organization trusts when it comes to human experiments."

"Enough!" He cocked his pistol. Mio stood and turned to face him in one quick, fluid motion. With the deft flick of her wrist the man dropped his weapon. He fell to the floor, clutching his hand. His pained screams did nothing to phase her.

"You're too slow." Mio waltzed to her pistol and retrieved it. "You should have armed that before speaking. In fact, you should have shot me point blank without opening your trap." She aimed her sights at his exposed forehead. He was younger than she expected, he must have been a smoker. His dark brown hair was a contrast to his pale skin and eyes. The grey-green orbs never left her mask. He gripped the _senbon_ lodged in his hand, an attempt to pull it out. "Don't you dare move. You know I'll shoot."

"What do you want?" He asked, defeated.

"What happened here?"

"It went wrong. All of it. It was supposed to take another three months, but it escalated too quickly."

"_What happened?" Her patience were thinning. She had other things to do._

"_It was a man-made parasite, designed to live off of the waste in humans and return the energy produced, or at least most of it. It was supposed to phase out fatigue, even sleep but... It kept all the extra energy for itself, tried to break free. It died when exposed to oxygen though. We didn't think it'd grow. Please, that's all I know. Let me live."_

"_Not a chance."_

_Link waited with growing anxiety, head pushed up against the door, for Mio. He heard everything, even the ending pop and the thump the body made as it fell. He nearly retched, from the killing or what the man spoke of, maybe even the blood stuck in his hair, he was unsure. Already his head pounded with an on coming headache. He pulled away from the door when Mio returned to the hall._

"_Why?"_

"_He knew too much. That, and he'd call for help. Then we'd be screwed and you could say goodbye to freedom, if not life. He was going to shoot me first anyway. Come on, we're wasting time." He followed her down the hall and into the elevator. The one at the mall had been made of glass, but this one was more like a steel box. A single light lit the room._

"_I though we were avoiding these?"_

"_Its the only way down. If I was the only one, I'd use the vents, but your shoulder are too broad to fit." The doors slid open and Mio dropped to crouch. Link followed suit, hiding in the corner as she did. "This will lead through a maze of hallways. For all we know someone could be down there. If not, we're running. Try to keep up and keep your ears open. That shouldn't be a problem, right?" She peered around the corner of the open elevator; nothing. Without a word she took off. Once more Link was left sitting there unexpectedly and he had to sprint in order to catch up._

_Left, left, right, forward, right, left. She took turns sporadically. He almost lost track of the slip of a girl once or twice. He had to admit, if only to himself, that Mio was fast. It must have had something to do with her shortness. After a while he figured she was lost, that they were running in circles. Collision was immanent as Mio came to a sudden stop. Link wasn't sure what surprised him more; how fast she was, how quickly she could stop running or the fact that she barely budged when he ran into her full-tilt. She was her own miniature tank._

"_Do you mind?" She whispered in harsh tones. He was not given a chance to respond. She pointed to a door down the hall to the left. "Whatever we're looking for is in there."_


	11. Chapter 10

Legends: Chapter 10

Shock notwithstanding Link was impressed. Though he could have passed up on all the death thus far, Mio had managed to stun him, even if he would never admit it aloud. Her stealth was impeccable and every swift, silent step appeared planned. He had struggled this whole time only to barely keep up with her. She knew what was going on, what needed to be done. This was her field, what she was trained for, and it showed. Nearly flawless.

In a harsh, almost jerky movement, Mio hauled back and gave the metal door before them a rough kick. The force of the kick resonated through the door with a booming roll. It gave way with a screeching of metal on metal as one of the hinges buckled. The chunk of metal swung into the wall beside, banging into it. Link felt himself corrected about her methods in that one moment. His ears throbbed and he cringed visibly, even as Mio charged in to check the room, pistol and knife drawn. She disappeared around the corner.

A silent moment later a hand poked out to signal him in. There wasn't much to be seen in the white room. Only a bed, a desk and another door that must be a closet. No pictures lined the walls, and nothing seemed out of place.

"This floor must be the living quarters." Mio holstered her weapons. "You search the desk, I'll take the closet." As if she owned the place Mio sauntered to the closet and swung the door open. Link stared at the desk in confusion.

"What am I supposed to be looking for?"

"Don't know. Hiver said I'd know it when I seen it. He's always vague like that." Hiver... The man who employed Mio. He must have had a lot of confidence in Mio to send her out here with the two Hylians in tow. That, or he really didn't care. Link frowned at the desk. Was this theft? Probably. Did he care at this point? He stopped to think about that one.

So far he had been thrown into a frozen wasteland, slipped in a puddle of blood, and been given a gigantic headache. No. He most definitely did not care at this current point in time, and he had a feeling he'd never regret taking anything from this desk.

There was nothing on the desk or under it. Only three drawers to the right of the desk were the only places for storage. The top one contained only a journal and pens, and he did not care to read it. The second held some white bottles, make-up cases and a novel with a half-naked man on the cover. He slammed the drawer shut. The third drawer was locked. He was having a terrible day and it was barely noon. Maybe he was a little frustrated. That most certainly explained how he retched the drawer open as if it was nothing. The small lock was flung somewhere behind him.

His heart dropped as his eyes fell upon the single, blue object in the drawer. His fear drained from is being only to be replaced with an odd sensation. He had seen this before, but he hadn't. It was almost like déja vu, but this was too vivid. In all seventeen years of his life he'd never seen it, or thought about anything of it's like, yet here it was, so clear in his memories. That didn't explain how it got here. How in the name of the goddesses did the ocarina even get here?

"I found it. Mio this is it." He snatched the small instrument and turned to face the closet. The door was wide open to reveal a bundle of clothing. Mio was missing. "Mio?" The pile shifted revealing half of Mio's face.

"You sure?" She didn't seem bothered at all.

"What are you doing?" He felt slightly exasperated by her actions. Wasn't she supposed to be a professional?

"A basket of clothes fell when I pulled out some documents. I was too busy reading. Didn't bother to move it. Now, are you sure?" She clearly didn't believe him, as if he was incapable of doing anything. She was sure she was looking for medical records or plans. He probably wouldn't be able to read anything in the room. Though, the documents she discovered were written in English.

"More than anything." He crouched to her level on the ground and held out the simple instrument. It glistened as if no damage had been done to it. As if it wasn't one of Hyrule's oldest artefacts. When she made to protest Link jumped to explain. "You don't understand. This is from Hyrule. It's called the Ocarina of Time, an instrument of old. Legend says that it posses magical abilities. I know, that sounds insane, don't look at me like that. Just think about it this way: Why would Hiver want you to bring me along? There's no way you could have known this is it on your own." She stood silently, neutral. She was evaluating his argument, her eyes darting from him to the blue ocarina. A light sigh washed over the room.

"Are you completely sure?" Link nodded without missing a beat. A horrified glint flashed through Mio's eyes. She looked pass him to the door behind him, her mouth a thin line.

"Damn, you beat me to it. I'll just have to pry it from your dead fingers." His body went rigid. The familiar voice sent a bout of panic through his veins. He kept his eyes on Mio, who had gone from scared to a mixture of anger and disgust in a matter of seconds. "Hello Fireball." She sneered at the pet name. The tone of silver-haired Link, or Shade as he recalled, sounded like a low purr. This day simply couldn't get worse, could it?

"How did you..." Mio's sentence trailed off. Shade remained leaned in the doorway, even as his counterpart turned to face him.

"Find you? Dear, I regret to inform you that I can't tell you that. I'd have to kill you if I did, and neither of us would want that." He stood straight, a smirk plastered to his pale face. His gaze shifted to the blond before him. "I see you've recovered. I'll have to fix that." Shade lunged forward, sword drawn. Link stumbled backward, narrowly dodging the offending blade. He ducked as another attack was made. A scuffle later he was beside Mio, ocarina clutched in his hands. He felt if he let it go there'd be dire consequences.

Shade stopped at the sight of the two. The Hero held the Ocarina of Time to his chest. Like a cornered rat he appeared ready to sneer and snap. His attention did not linger long as it was curiously attracted by the odd metal object his fireball held aimed at him. "Now what, may I ask, do you plan on-"

An indescribable boom deafened Shade and for a moment his sight went black. A pain, sharp and persistent, burrowed through his skull. The suffering quickly faded and when his vision returned the pair had vanished. Intriguing.

Link didn't fall behind this time. In fact, he had no problem keeping up with the little assassin. He was but inches from her heels as they bolted for an exit. Though, she was moving slower than before. Her eyes were more focused on her gun than their path, much to his dislike.

"What's wrong?"

"It's jammed. I went for the double-tap but the second bullet got lodged. Dammit!" Without warning Link yanked Mio into a nearby room, earning a shocked squeak and a flail. "What are you _doing_?" He closed the door gently behind them and signalled for quietness.

"Can you fix it? It seemed to stun him. That's better than nothing, right?" Mio fidgeted than sat on the bedroom floor, legs crossed. "Right?"

"Of course I can. I've been working with firearms for years. It'll just take time, time we probably don't have." She pulled a small tool kit from her Kokiri pouch and set to work on taking the mini death machine apart. She hunched herself over the pistol, straining her eyes to work in the little light a bedside lamp provided. Lithe hands moved diligently to carefully remove small parts, and Link could not help but find himself all too curious. The situation at hand kept him from asking questions. Finally she plucked a round, bent metal chunk from the pistol. She dropped it carelessly and went straight to reassembling the mechanisms.

"_That's _what it shoots?" It seemed almost harmless. No bigger than his thumb, the tiny chunk of metal was able to kill a person in under a second. It was truly a monstrous invention. Link left her to work and checked the hall. It lay bare and white as it had been before.

"He's teasing us." Mio stood, pistol readied. "I'm sure he knows where we are."

"Doesn't matter. Does it work?" Mio shrugged and joined him by the door. She didn't seem overly concerned.

"It should. There was a loose bit. Might have happened when I dropped it earlier. I'm not going to risk testing it though. Ready?" A nod from the blond was all she needed. "Keep up." She was gone, slinking through the door with ease, but not without him close behind. Again, they turned down several hallways that made no sense to him, but he wasn't going to question her, not today. Quicker than the trip to their destination, the elevator was in sight sooner than he expected. Its doors were open in a welcoming manner. They were but moments away Shade walked from behind a corner of the metal box, grinning like a mad man.

"I figured you'd return to your only exit. Was I incorrect?" His lips set into a mischievous smirk. "If you hand it over I'll give you a head start."

"Like hell." Mio aimed and prayed that the gun wouldn't misfire. She had rushed through the process of fixing it, there was no telling if she made a mistake. The pistol felt odd in her hand, but that could be a psychological side effect of worry. "Obviously, if you want it I was sent to retrieve it. Therefore its mine."

Shade chuckled, the low baritone echoed in the small hall. "Well, well, well. Aren't you precious? Although, I'll admit, I don't like that little device of yours. I'm unsure as to its capabilities, but I'm not waiting to find out what they are." His cockiness was vanquished as she loaded two rounds into his chest. He stumbled backwards but wasn't moved otherwise. A hoarse laugh filled their ears as the doppelganger recovered. "As I said, _precious_."

"Goddammit! Do you even know _how to die?!"_

_"Mio." She eyed Link behind her. His hand rested on her shoulder, shaking. Or was that her? "Someone is coming. I can hear them talking around the corner." The short one muttered something about radio-waves that made little sense to him. "What are we supposed to do?"_

_"Give me the ocarina. That's what he wants, right? You go to Zelda. Get out of here. Take my pouch, it has a map of this place in it." Without his consent she pushed the small, hand-sized pouch into his coat pocket. He tried to refuse. It would leave her with only her pistol._

_"Are you two whispering your farewells?" Shade's taunt went ignored. He did not make a move to attack the two. He was interested in seeing where this was going._

_"Are you crazy?"_

_"No. I know what I'm doing. Now give me the ocarina and go." She held her hand out expectantly. He didn't want to. There was an unexplainable pull about the little instrument. This instrument was his, he felt it so. But... Damn, he had to. He had to trust it with her. He thrust the ocarina into her palm. Link let her have it. He needed to protect the princess, to be sure she was still safe._

_His cobalt eyes flew to Shade. The enemies eyes remained glued to Mio as she pocketed the ocarina._

_"Oh, so this is how we're going to play, hm? You think you can outsmart me. Kill the Hero or pursue the Ocarina of Time." He flicked his attention to the two Organization scientists that jumped out from behind the corner that lead to the halls. Their shaky arms wielded standard black pistols. As they scanned the three intruders a terrified gasp escaped one of them as their eyes fell upon Mio's mask._

_"N-no Name!"_

_"Link! Go!" Mio pushed the blond harshly into the elevator, just missing Shade, who stood curiously to the side. "Hit the button to go up moron!"_

_She couldn't give him any more instructions. She tucked and rolled behind Shade as the scientists open fired on her. Turns out he made a great shield. _

_"Looks like you are good for something after all." Shade grimaced , even as the final bullet lodged into his chest. He could have easily let her die there, but he wanted her alive. Needed her alive. The scientists shouted in a foreign language, eyes wide and faces pale. Shade's lack of death was a reason to be scared. "Excuse me, gotta go."_

_Mio leaped onto a nearby filing cabinet, pistol in mouth and ocarina in her holster, hopes set on reaching the air vent she had spotted while rolling. Her fingers had just grasped the grate when Shade griped her leg and hauled her down, bringing the grate with her in a loud clatter. Only a small gasp signalled her surprise,_

_"Oh no you don't. Hand me the ocarina before I'm forced to hurt you." She clutched it to her chest when he pulled on her belt holster. She had just barely caught it when it flew from her belt. Her other hand still grasped her pistol, which had been quickly grabbed from the floor where it had clattered. Her confidence returned in her pistol, the cool metal felt familiar. In a second it was pressed against Shade's face. Mio spared the scientists a minor glare. They'd gone into a silent shock, eyes glued to the anomaly in the room. Shade glowered at her._

_She had lied to Link. Mio wasn't sure what she was supposed to do. She had hoped to make into the vent system, but even then, there was no telling where she was going. Shade had easily anticipated her moves, and by now the facility knew she was here. It'd be full out war if she got discovered again, given if she could make it out of this situation. What was she to do?_

_She fired two more rounds into Shade. She had only one choice. Get into the vent. As soon as the second bullet left the chamber she was off. Onto the filling cabinet and into the vent. Mio made her escape within seconds._

_Shade recovered quickly only to be dismayed. His little fireball had wriggled free from his presence. The ocarina would be out of his reach for some time before she reached the upper levels of the facility. That could take some time, hours most likely._

_He could always go torture the Hero, but that'd be akin to fighting a puppy. The boy could barely put up a fight. His eyes shifted to the petrified scientists._

_He could feel the fear rolling off of them; taste it even. Sour, bitter, familiar. He could feed off of such fear. They stood, side by side, dressed in white with weapons reloaded and drawn. The same little weapons as Mio had used. They weren't the only people down here. Twenty, fifty, nearly a hundred hearts were beating down here, all waiting to be silenced. Killing a few hours wouldn't be so hard._


	12. Chapter 11

Legends: Chapter 11

The heat in the storage room in which the Hyrulians hid had its heat cut off a while ago. Puffs of vapor signalled each breath the pair took. The room's white, unadorned walls offered nothing of comfort. The princess shivered into her guard, teeth chattering.

"Link? What if she's-?"

"She's fine." He was quick to cut her off. Mio had to be fine. She knew what she was doing, did this for a living, no matter how much it disturbed him to think of it as a day-job. Killing people shouldn't be a job, but it seemed to be Mio's calling.

"But it's been two hours since you got back. You said that your doppelganger had returned. He might have-" His interruptions were beginning to grind her nerves, but she withheld her tongue.

"She's fine." The tone he used was that of finality. He did not move closer to the shivering princess, did not care about his own shuddering limbs, but focused his attention to the sealed steel door. He had heard shuffling now and then from the occupants of the facility, but none dared to enter their safe room. Beside him the princess sighed.

"It's not like I have anything against her. Yes, she is rude and a little bossy, and just a tad bit snappy, but she has good intentions. She took us into her home, willingly taught us about things irrelevant to why we were there just to sate out curiosity. Even now she's probably fighting to keep us safe. I don't want anything to happen to her." Zelda laid her chin upon her knees. A prominent frown displayed her displeasure. The frigid air had chapped the pink flesh of her lips and they quivered in the cold.

"I know." And here he was, sitting on the sidelines, useless. It felt so wrong, to be resting about, no help to anyone. He felt that he should be fighting, aiding Mio at the least. Restless hands and legs were begging him to pace, pick, do something that might at least be of use. In spite of the two hours that passed his heart continued to drum in his ears. His cracked lips remained closed, his mouth dry. Cobalt eyes refused to leave the door. He feared for Mio. If something happened to her he'd hold himself responsible.

His entire life he had been the one to protect others. When the royal family had taken him in he had been raised as a guardian. To serve the royal family, to protect the royal family; there were no other words that defined him. When the king was dying he had been called upon. "Protect Zelda" was all the words he had for him, the only words. There was no touching goodbye, only orders. But he had obeyed. Link would have done anything his father figure had asked of him. In his heart he knew he'd grown to be protective of everyone.

Yet, here he was. Being utterly useless. Mio, the cocky little woman that ground his patience to a dust, was out there fighting _his_ doppelganger, _his _problem. He'd hate to be indebted to her, for her to be hurt because of him. His toes curled in his boots, a grimace marred his features. _Dammit._

"Link?"

"Yes?" The two stared at the door, didn't dare to look away for even a second. She might barge in and start ordering them around.

"What if she doesn't come back?" Zelda shifted, pulling herself into a tighter ball. "What are we supposed to do?"

"She'll be back. She's too stubborn to die." Did he have the right to say that about her? He had been around her for roughly a month now, but knew very little about her. She made herself scarce when she wasn't yelling at him.

"Zelda?"

"Yes?"

"What is she like when she's with you? She isn't too rude, is she?"

What an odd time for such a question. "She tries very hard to be patient with me, certainly when I don't understand something. Very quiet in her explanations too. Why? She isn't rude with you, is she?"

"No." He lied for the sake of avoiding an explanation. He knew better than to hinder the princess with his problems. Though, he would bring this up with Mio. He felt slightly discriminated against.

"She's actually very interesting." The comment was off-hand, almost a whisper.

"How so?" Zelda jumped a little, as if she had forgotten he was there to begin with.

"She's mysterious. I don't know much about her even though I've done nothing but talk to her. I never thought to get to know her better. The things I know about her are from the things I've seen in her room. It's very simple. She doesn't bother with intricate things. There's a painting easel in there. A few small painting lying about have her signature. I think. She's very good, paints mostly nature." Painting? That didn't seem like Mio at all. She liked fighting, and cursed like a sailor. She was brutish and cocky. Painting seemed to fine a thing for her, too delicate. "I should ask her to do a portrait for me." A small giggle bubbled from her throat.

Link wished to make a snarky remark, to keep the feel of a good mood, but his intentions were cut short. A familiar banging drowned out all other noise, and it sounded from behind the door. A pistol. It had to be Mio. Unless Shade had run into some of he men here and was making his way to the room. Zelda stared at the door in terror.

"Link, what was that?"

"Stay there." He grabbed his sword hastily. He would not sit here any longer. "I'll be back." He cautiously opened the door and peered through. Nothing of significance could be seen from the crack. He opened the door to its entirety. Two bodies, one male the other female, laid dead before him. The blood seeping from their skulls had yet to reach their white coats, but was accumulated enough to create dark red puddles.

His head spun right; nothing. It twitched to the left. Mio, still with mask, was walking towards him, no more than twenty-five feet away. Her pistol was gripped tightly in her right hand. Her left was clutching her right shoulder. No pain showed on her face, her speed went unhindered.

"Get back in the room!" Her barked order went disobeyed. He couldn't move, not with the bodies laying face-down in front of him. They were people, most likely with families. "Link!"

It was too late. His sword was knocked from his hand. Mio's frantic footsteps could be heard but his vision blurred and jumbled. Someone was wrapping their arm around his throat. Cool metal was pressed up against his skull. The man who had grabbed him yelled out in a harsh, foreign language. For a moment he felt fear. He was going to die. He had stuck out his neck foolishly and he was going to pay the price.

His vision corrected itself instantaneously. Mio was mid-jump, flipping over him and the assailant. The sound of scrapping metal than flesh being divided came from behind him. The arm holding him captive fell limp, red liquid shimmered in hid peripherals but no scream was heard. The body slumped to the ground as Link spun on his heel. Mio was already in the process of engaging the second man in the hall. Before he could draw his weapon she had him.

Using the speed that always bested Link she grabbed the man's arm and used it to pull her onto his shoulders. Her right arm pulled back, revealing the bloody knife she had used to kill the first man. In an arc movement she jammed the blade to the hilt into the joint between the neck and shoulder. The man cried out, limbs rigid with terror and pain. For a second he made eye contact with Link. His pupils were dilated fully, leaving no traced of colour. He looked ready to beg for help. Mio's hand muffled his cries. She twisted the blade twice and jumped off the falling body. It made no sound as it crumpled.

Link stood petrified. That was two lives in no more than fifteen seconds, and not a bullet from her discarded pistol was used. She still wore her mask, though now he noticed it was splashed with blood. Her eyes could be seen clearly. Cold, dark, guarded. The eyes of a killer.

"You..." He felt heavy. "You killed them."

"Would you rather have died? In front of Zelda, no less?" She held a steady hand out toward the door. Zelda stood in the middle of the room, stalk still. Her gloved hands covered her mouth. Her bright blue eyes were wide and shining with tears. It had been her who had screamed his name, not Mio. Link's eyes fell. They met the dark, dead orbs of the man who had attempted to murder him. They had ruminants of fear in them. She was right, of course. This man had been ready to use him as hostage. Would Mio have cared had she been too late? Mio hadn't stalled a second to waste the man who had pulled him into a death grip.

"L-Link?" Zelda's voice shook with concern, and grasped for his attention. "Are you alright?" He nodded absently. He was unsure if he was. The man's blood streamed down his back and Link gave a shiver of disgust.

The princess nearly tackled him to the ground, wrapping her small arms around his torso like a vice-grip. He minutely moved to hug back, his mind seemingly in a stupor. At this point he just wanted to go home, to the forest, anywhere but this frozen steel box filled with murderous intent. An impatient tapping broke through his thoughts and he pulled away from Zelda. Mio stood tall, pistol holstered and arms crossed. The insistent tapping came from her foot hitting the linoleum floor.

"I know this is supposed to be sweet or something, but we need to go _now_. Come on, we're taking the front door. Everyone knows I'm here, I need to be quick." She spared them little time to get ready. If they hadn't put on their winter gear while waiting for her they'd be going on without them.

Mio led them down sets of stairs and into a larger room, which must have been a sort of lobby. It was bleak, white as everything else in the goddess forsaken place. There was only a door, a desk and a small walk to the elevator. No one manned the room. The assassin walked calmly to the middle of it, observing the room with a critical eye.

"No windows, no balconies or ledges..." She hauled herself over the desk, landing loudly. "And no one here. There's nowhere to hide or to start an ambush... Just the main door, elevator and stairwell, which we came from."

"Where is everyone then?" Link ushered Zelda in, holding her delicately by the elbow. She had gone into a minor silent shock, wobbling every now and again, but was walking fine otherwise. Still e rather not risk it, just to be sure. "There's no way they'd let you just walk away, not after what you did." The end of his sentence held a tint of aversion. It went ignored.

"What I've done indeed. We need to leave, come on." They abandoned the building, running straight for a large bank of snow and good distance from the facility. "Alright, duck and cover your ears." Mio was rough, pulling them behind without room for question. A small black box was pulled from her pocket and for a moment she seemed to debate what to do with it. She pressed the lonely button on it.

A sound of the earth splitting and rumbling deafened the trio despite their efforts. A heat wave radiated through the area, crashing into the snow bank like a stiff breeze. Metal screeched and moan under pressure and cried loudly when it snapped. After what seemed like eternity an eerie silence enveloped everything. The Hylians remained huddled as Mio stood on steady feet.

"Huh. That worked better than I thought it would." Link stood next on unsteady legs. The building was gone, fallen into a large hole that the explosion had created. Around it the snow and ice had melted and revealed the ground far beneath it. Bits of metal stuck out here and there along the field where they had been flung.

"What have you done?" Disbelief coated his words. The violence this world was showing was undeniably sinful. He was almost afraid to stand beside her, only tolerating it because she had gone so far out of her way to save him and Zelda.

"Lined the vents with C4, an explosive. Plenty of it on each floor I had to crawl through to get back upstairs. Took out everything... Damn, this was almost too easy."

"_What the hell is wrong with you?!_" He grabbed her by the front of her shirt with a strength he never realized he had, easily pinning her against the bank. His bare hands gripped her shirt tightly, only now did he realized she didn't have her winter gear, but only the small grey shirt and jeans. She had left it all behind in her rush. "They didn't have to die! Wrong or not, they could have lived! What about their family, their friends? Who will tell them?" He could still see her eyes beneath the mask. They remained steady and cold. This time though, that stare was focused on him, not the dead man from the hall.

"Let me go." Her voice cut through him like ice; cold and sharp. She was not going to tolerate this. "You're so ignorant to this world, its ways. You don't understand. These people aren't here for a vacation or to solve world hunger. I'll explain back home, preferably when I'm not slowly freezing to death."

He released her forcibly. She was a murderer, undeserving of kind treatment. Zelda stared at him from her crouched spot, concern shining in her eyes. He leaned down and helped her up. "We should go, come on." He didn't allow her to see the destruction Mio had cause, but guided her after Mio. He didn't want to follow her, but Kenta was her accomplice, her way home and their way back to Hyrule.

The tension within the helicopter was thick enough to call steel. Mio had finally discarded her mask and was bundled beneath thick blankets in a corner and a book in hand. She looked calm, almost serene. Link felt his stomach lurch when she smiled at a particular sentence. How could she be so tranquil after eliminating so many people? It didn't bother her in the least! If only he had known her intentions, he might have been able to stop her.

Could he have stopped her? He had seen her move, fight, kill. Would she have killed him just as fast had he gotten in the way? Disregarded his safety and throw him to the dogs? He wouldn't be much of a match, certainly is she had that gun. Even with sword and shield he'd prove no match. He could feel his trust in her dwindling.

A small hand gripped his forearm with barely any strength. "Link? Are you alright?" Zelda seemed to be asking this question of him a lot lately. She whispered to him in Hylian, keeping their conversation a secret. "You look a little pale."

"I'm fine." Lies. But he had learned how to lie to the princess long ago. It was a safety measure; no need in having her stress. "It just bugs me. She's so heartless."

"She had to. She promised to explain, at least hear her out?" She was taking her side? Honestly?

"She could be lying! You shouldn't be so confident in her. You barely know her, you said so yourself. No one so comfortable with death should be trusted, you never know when they might turn on you." Zelda frowned at him, clearly ignored all the advice he had offered.

"I trust her with my life. She went out of her way to protect both of us, even if the sacrifice was high. What if they tracked us down? If they got to Kenta before us? There's nothing that could have been done."

Link let out a frustrated grunt. She didn't understand the severity of the situation. Those scientists were people too. They had people who would miss them, cry over them. Families that could be broken without their support. "I know." He withheld his tongue for the sake of avoiding an argument. "Be careful around her. She's still a stranger, and has proven herself dangerous." He at least got a nod from her.

"Do not push yourself. What happened today isn't your fault. It's over. There's no going back, alright?"

He didn't respond. Instead he paid attention to the chrome wall of the helicopter across from him. Where were they supposed to go from here? Just carry on as if nothing had happened? Shade popped up in his thoughts. He doubted the explosion killed him. Link's eyes snapped to the bundle of purple in the corner.

"Mio?" Her eyes reluctantly strayed from her book then settled on him. Her expression was not as obvious as the words on her pages. Mio remained unreadable.

"Hm? I was under the impression that you were ignoring me." She was right, he had been ignoring her up until now.

"Where's the ocarina?" His heart rate had had doubled since he recalled why they were sent here in the first place. What if she had lost it, or dropped it in battle? He'd strangle her, there was little doubt in his mind that he wouldn't.

"Oh." Her voice went flat. The blankets rustled as she searched around for it. A steady hand tossed it to him. "Here, take it. It seems more important to you than me." He caught it easily considering space was tight. "I'm assuming it's what Shade was after as well, he barely seemed interested in us. It concerns me knowing he can travel outside of Hyrule. I was told that the island was exclusive, that barely anyone left since the ocean was too rough for it's boats." Silence. Link stared away, taking no notice of her at all. "Oh, I see how it is. You got what you wanted and now you're going to pretend I don't exist."

Just then Kenta's voice broke into the tense silence. "We're landing in twenty minutes, I hope you remember where you parked."

"Explain yourself." The words left his mouth the moment Mio's apartment door swung open. "And refrain from lying." Link followed her into the apartment, Zelda in tow. Mio stopped only to remove her shoes and to slip into her purple slippers. She grimaced when the other two didn't do the same but stepped inside without another word. Mio instead made her way into her small kitchen and made herself a pot of herbal tea.

"What, I can't even shower? Since when are you so demanding?"

Link refrained from grabbing her. "They didn't have to die!" He stood only a few feet away, hands clenched at his sides. He glowered down at her. Mio let out a frustrated sigh. She still wore her bloodied clothes and could feel them sticking to her skin.

"Yes, they did. Go sit down. Hell, make yourself comfortable. The tea will be ready in a few minutes." He felt like yelling at her. To tell her he didn't need her hospitality. But there was something in that blank canvas of expression. Something about the way her pale blue-grey eyes sparked. He resigned with only a mumble of angered gibberish.

He did not have enough time to bathe between now and her promised explanation, so he sat on the floor. Zelda had gone and changed and laid o the couch before Mio had come to talk. Her yellow nightgown was bright compared to her long sandy hair. A tray of tea was placed on the low coffee table before Mio sat across from him on the floor, legs crossed. She hadn't bothered to change her clothes either, and remained covered in the dried blood of her victims. There was no point in changing without a shower.

"You come from a land so different from here. There's peace and prosperity, and no discrimination. The rest of the world is so corrupt in comparison, it's embarrassing really. Here there is gender inequality, woman are treated as lesser beings. There's racism, anyone who is different is considered to be wrong or an abomination. There has been slavery within and between countries. There has always been war, from civil to worldwide. Humans have no rights, not among each other. That's just dreams that will never be reached. Despite having the right to food, we still have pay for it. There is no sense behind it.

"This being said, humans treat other humans as dirt all the time, stooping so low as to take advantage of each other for something as materialistic as currency. Those people in there were performing human experiments, developing unethical weapons to kill other humans. Those people are part of the Organization.

"The Organization is, well, an organization. It started out in the 1800s in England. It is a non-governmental group originally designed to aid the government by not being subjected to laws. Eventually other countries began forming their own sections, and in recent years they have begun to conjoin into one massive group. They do not leak information to anyone, even withholding from the country they serve as well. Although it started with good intentions, the Organization as whole has taken a dark turn.

"They used to talk about solving world hunger and curing diseases. Without having to be charged by the government, getting equipment and such for free, it seemed much more possible. But it never happened. A couple of decades ago the Organizations have started going secretive, hiding from the public. They realized they could break any law they pleased since no one ruled over them. They are separate from any government. If an Organization agent kills someone it cannot start a war, however that person cannot be held responsible. Since that person has no one to punish them no government can touch them. They are legal killers with dark intentions.

"I've..." This was the first time she stopped. Her eyes went to the floor for a moment then flicked back up, looking to see if they believed her in the first place. She must have found what she was looking for since she continued. "I've been tracking these people all my life. Trying to figure out their plans. It hasn't been easy with so many groups, but I have been following the European own the closest. They're very active. Turns out they are into human genetics, trying to splice genes together... er, trying to turn people into other types of creatures or beings. Human testing is very common. They take people, usually kidnap, and test on them against their will. Sometimes there's willing participants. Their experiments range from alteration to bio-weapons, weapons that effect living organisms only, like a new disease that can be released over a country." She took a small break, letting it soak in. The Hyrulians remained silent.

"Where we were, that facility I blew up, was run by the Organization. It was formed under the European groups. I can tell you confidently it wasn't a place where sunshine and rainbows were made." Mio pulled out a brown folder from under the untouched tea tray and handed them to Link. "Here, these can explain why I did what I did better than I can. They're from the folders I collected in there."

Link looked at them thoroughly, taking his time with each one. The first few were photos of vials and needles, all labelled. The words seemed English but remained foreign. The word 'plague' came up on a few. After those it all went downhill. Mangled bodies, some only remotely human, and bloodied body bags seemed to be a running theme. All of them had the same thing written on the back: Failed. There was one particular photo, one that struck a chord of fear. It featured rows upon rows of the dead lined up on the ice. There was at least a hundred bodies wrapped in white linen. The back of the photo read 'success'.

"They specialized in human alteration, but were assigned with a few illness tests. The people in there are the kind of people that bring down the human race. They aren't forced to do this. If an employee were to show signs of discomfort they would be dispatched, they don't risk anything. If they continue living people will continue to die for their selfish causes, and if they succeed even more will die. Men, woman, children. They have no bounds. That's why I had to kill them, and that's why I will continue to hunt them down. Just as I have for years." She fell silent and grabbed a cup of tea. Zelda had begun sipping long ago. She took the photos back when Link reached to hand them back.

He wasn't quite sure what to think any more. Killing in order to cease killing. A few lives for the many. The way she worded it made it seem like there was absolutely no other way around it. "But... Why not inform someone? Call for help?"

"No point. The government is wrapped around their finger. They have countries under their control. Even so, I don't exist to the government. I have no files, my birth was never recorded. I don't exist on file, my opinions don't matter."

"What?" It sounded like an invasion of privacy to him.

"Alright, there are so many people in this world that keeping track if them is difficult. So files governed by the country of their origin and where they live are created. That way if something happens, like they go missing, it can be easier to find them. This is the same if they owe someone money. Plus, each country has different laws. It only gets more confusing the more you think about it. Just... Don't worry about it."

Silence dragged on as the two girls sipped at their tea. Link remained unmoved, thoughts flying a mile a minute. This was it then, he had very little choice but to trust her. He'd focus on his given tasks, leave her to deal with her problems. Hyrule had nothing to do with this, therefore he had nothing to worry about. He left his cold tea on the tray and left for a shower. The more he sat there the heavier the dried blood in his hair seemed to grow.

"Oi, I hope you're a morning person. I'm picking up lesson tomorrow." He inwardly scoffed at Mio's remark.

The forest was vacant. Not a sound was produced. No birds, nor insects. The thick trees did not sway or rustle with any wind. The clearing was dotted with the tall thick oak trees, the grass only ankle tall. The smell of earth and leaves was mingled with the fragrance of rain. The temperate evening brought about a sense of calm that might put one to a sound sleep. He didn't notice the fog rolling in, didn't care if it did.

He was much too tired for that. His limbs were heavy and achy. Mind clouded and hazy. He could barely bring himself to sit upright on his horse. The growling of his stomach did not make him stir. He had been starving for a while now, a little dehydrated since his canteen went dry. When was the last time he ate? He couldn't remember. All he could remember was his search. His search for what, he hasn't too sure about that either. Why was he here?

Sleep was coming to greet him, even as Epona trudged forward. He could almost feel the pleasantness of dreams tingling the edges of his mind. _So close..._

Epona reared, screeching. The whining pierced his sensitive ears and he desperately, unthinking, reached to cover them. He tumbled to the ground, barely managing a grunt. The fear, the exhaustion, the hunger and the impact with the ground sent him spinning into blackness.

How long had he been out? Pain spun like a skulltula's web across his head. His small hands pushed him to his feet even as his skull protested. His vision bounced from side to side, but as it cleared he made out a figure. A boy, scrawny and dressed in odd orange clothes whispered to two fairies. What he said went unheard. They appeared to be arguing about something in the boy's hand. A sound so hauntingly familiar came from the object in question. Finally he caught sight of it: The ocarina. His heart clench and the boy's eyes flew to him, then tried to hide the instrument behind him. A colourful purple mask adorned his face.

He refused to lay there and do nothing. He lunged for the other boy, but the boy was faster. While he ran from his attack the boy swiftly hopped onto Epona. Before Epona managed to take off in a panic he jumped for his horse and reached to grab the reigns in a valiant effort. He only caught hold of the boy's tiny leg.

Epona sprinted into the woods, dragging him across the forest floor. Flesh tore against rock and stray branches, drawing blood. His hands were beginning to sweat and all he could hear was the pounding of his own heart and a repeated thought: _This couldn't be happening. He wouldn't let go. He couldn't lose Epona too. She turned abruptly, and the moisture that had built up on his tiny hands proved too much and he slipped. His side struck the ground, sending him into a roll over rocks and dirt. He laid where he came to a stop for a moment. He stared as his horse, his only friend, as she ran off at the hands of a thief. He would not let him get away!_

_He forced himself to his feet and followed the only path. The forest was a dark blur now. All he could feel was the searing pain from his wounds and adrenaline. All that was on his mind was getting to Epona. His feet slid on the dew covered grass and he saw the edge of the hole too late. Time seemed to slow as he stared into the black abyss beneath him. His feet left the ground and he fell into the black hole. For a moment he felt like he was flying, until Link woke up screaming._


	13. Chapter 12

Legends 12

He spent the entirety of the night curled in his sheets, back against the wall and face buried beneath the shield of his blanket. He was unsure how early it was when Mio came to fetch him, or even how long he had been awaken by the chillingly familiar, and all too realistic, nightmare. The effects no longer lingered, but the images remained at the forefront of his memory.

"Link?" He removed the blanket enough to see her. His usually tan face was whiter then usual and large black circles were distinct underneath his eyes. Mio stood away, leaning on the doorframe. A bowl of cereal sat on her hand, a spoon in the other. She waited patiently for a response.

"Yes?"

"Get dressed in something comfortable. We're beginning training when you've eaten." She did not even seem to consider his current state as she walked away with a light skip in her step. Link grunted to himself; she had left the door open. She made sure he had to get up. Hesitantly he got to his feet. He'd have to put his dream aside for now.

Mio had always been a morning person. A lot of people tended to hate mornings. They always thought the sun was rude for awakening them so early, that night should last longer. What good was that for productivity? The sun would always rise when it wished, not cutting off its routine for anyone. She had respect for mornings and would take every second the sun had to offer her.

She waited for Link in the kitchen, wedged into the corner of her counters. The window behind her barely gave off any light. The sun was still in the process of rising.

It was odd having the two foreigners in her home. When was the last time she had someone else in her apartment? There was that time four years ago when Kenta had to drag her injured body onto her couch. Some drug dealer had managed to shoot her in the upper right shoulder and stomach. Other than that, there were no other instances she could recall having "company".

Mio wasn't fond of other people. She labelled herself a very solitary person and preferred the company of guitar strings and paint brushes. Still, orders were orders, and she'd do all she could to put up with the Hyrulians until then. Besides, Link was learning faster than she was willing to admit. Well, yesterday he had proven that he could not keep a tight enough focus on a situation, but that could be worked on. Maybe she could have this over within a month or so. Then she could release them into the wilderness of Hyrule once more and be done with all this.

She had just tipped her bowl to drink her milk when Link walked in. His hair was dishevelled and he slumped as he walked. Mio made a sound of annoyance in the back of her throat. Could the fate of Hyrule really depend on such a lazy boy? He grabbed an apple from a basket on the counter and bit down into it.

"_Ohayo_." She stated as she placed her bowl in the sink. He looked at her awkwardly from across the small kitchen. "It means good morning."

"_Ohayo_?" He tested the word.

"Yup. Hurry up and finish that." She wandered off to move the couches around in the main room so they had enough space to move about.

Uncaring, Link watched her go about her business. He was still upset with her but knew it was pointless. It's not like they wanted to put up with each other. So long as he paid attention he could put this whole training thing behind him. When he scuffled into the main room Mio had just finished pushing the longer couch against the TV. To protect it no doubt.

"What are we doing, exactly?" He looked like he was internally criticizing her. Hands on hip, she glared back at him.

"Hand to hand. Its what I should have started you on. I-well I don't go by typical standards so you're gonna have to pay attention." She hadn't quite thought about it, but she didn't actually know any _real_ fighting styles, just bits and pieces. The rest was in-battle knowledge, quick-thinking so to say. She was never taught anything, no wonder this whole teaching thing was a pain. "Just... Trust me."

"That's asking a lot. You don't exactly make that an easy thing to do." It was meant as an insult. A small smile crept across Mio's face. She seemingly ignore the comment otherwise.

"We'll be using the living room and hall area. That should be enough space." There were no walls to separate the two spaces, making it one big area. "Ready?"

"Sure." Came the flat response. She frowned at him.

"At least try to pretend to be enthusiastic." They moved to the middle of the room. "Hold your hands out like you're going to punch me." How he would have loved to. He held out his fists. "Let me teach you a handy trick. Pun intended." Mio held out her hands now, half-folded and palms facing each other. "Try to hit me. Don't worry, you won't." That cocky smile only made the situation worse. He threw a punch, the insult not going ignored.

His hand stopped short, caught by her right hand. Mio's left hand flew out, stopping centimetres from his face. He had barely seen her move, but instead of being concerned for his face he noticed her hands. They were wrapped in bandages. Had she injured them in the facility?

"Clenching your fists is proof that you're a novice at hand to hand combat. One of the simplest rules is to keep them half-clenched. That way you can block," Mio released his hand. "Or push when the timing is right." She backed away and kept her fighting pose; elbows bent hands at the ready. "You can also grab. Try again."

He threw a punch with his right, which she easily side-stepped. Still close enough to touch him, Mio pushed him harshly, her palm flat against his chest. Link lost his balance, feet sliding from beneath him. Before he could begin to fall her fingers clutched the fabric of his cotton shirt and pulled him back onto his feet. Once more her opposing hand stopped inches from his face.

"That's twice I could have knocked you out..." She frowned at him and he refrained from making a sour face in return. "Stay on the offensive. I'll block, and no holding back." She wasn't entirely used to having a sparing partner, so this would prove entertaining.

Link had no intentions of holding back. After everything he had to endure so far, holding back against the stubborn girl was not on his list of things to do. He went from there, trying his best to score a hit against the shorter girl, but she did not let him gain an inch of hope. After what felt like an eternity, but the clock said was twenty minutes, his arms were tired, while Mio showed no signs of fatigue. Sensing his slowed movements Mio stopped him.

"Ready to switch?" Switch? He hadn't been counting on this. "I strike, you block. Or are your arms too sore?" Her taunting irked him. "I'll hold back, no worries."

A sound of annoyance was his only response, and not needing any other consent, Mio threw the first punch. Link barely managed to block it, his arm internally creaked from the pressure. Pain blossomed in his palm, and soon in his other hand as well. He felt this wasn't going to be a very fun experience. By the time Mio had called it quits his palms were beginning to bruise, but he refused to show any pain externally.

"You seem to get the gist of it. I'll be right back." When Mio returned she was holding two thick braces in one hand and dragging a tall red cylinder with the other. She stopped a short ways letting the cylinder wobble back and forth. "Your punches were weak. Be honest, were you trying?" He could detect no sarcasm in her tone.

"Yes."

"Put these weights around your wrists, they'll help build muscle faster. Consider this here punching-bag your new partner. Zelda should be getting up soon, so I'll be spending some time teaching her about politics." He stared the punching bag down, it was nearly taller than him.

"So I just hit it?"

"Yup. As hard as you like. I know you were holding back." Tension jumped in his shoulders. _How could she tell?_ "Anyway, don't think about stopping. At least not without permission."

"Or what?" He challenged. She met him with equal venom.

"You'll find out how hard I can hit. I _was_ holding back." She handed him the weights. "Have fun." As if on queue, Zelda trudged out of her room. She was rubbing her eyes and her simple pants and shirt were ruffled, as if she were in a rush.

"Why did you set that infernal device?"

"The alarm clock? Did you think I was only talking to Link when I said early morning?" The princess groaned in an unladylike manner. "Suck it up and get something to eat. We're starting immediately." As the ladies passed by Link threw his first shot with the braces. They weren't too heavy. A light 'boof' sound came from the red opponent as it rocked backward. It cam sailing back, knocking into Link, who only managed to stay on his feet by flailing ungracefully. A mocking laugh came from Mio.

"Did I mention it fights back?

By the time noon rolled around Link could barely manage movement. His arms felt like lead lined jelly resting at his sides. Unable to lift them, he let himself pitch forward, hitting the ground rather ungracefully with significant force. The princess gasped from her chair in the kitchen, a small jump jostling her hair out of place. Mio sat beside her, unfazed. A frown marred her face, she had been in the middle of Communism,

"Did I say you could stop?"

"Don't be so harsh, can't you see he's tired?" Zelda stood, set out to aid the fallen Hyrulian.

"Do you expect the enemy to be so kind? He won't learn if he's not pushed. Life isn't so simple, princess." Mio marched past the blond girl and stood over Link. None too gently, she removed the weights from his wrists. "Get up. It's about time we had lunch. You should probably drink something. You've been at this for hours. We'll start again after."

Lunch ended too soon in Link's opinion. He couldn't even recall getting to his feet or beginning his meal. Or what his meal had been. He felt like sleeping for the night this instant, but Mio insisted (demanded) that they continue.

"We're going to do footwork since your arms look like rubber. How far up can you kick? Actually, no, wait. I'm not sure where to start..."

"Let him have the rest of the day off." Zelda persisted.

"I know!" Mio made a triumphant gesture, clearly ignoring the princess. "We're going out. To a park. It was a gift from Hiver, concealed away from the rest of Tokyo." She knew her idea was barely orthodox, but it was nice out and some fresh air, as fresh as Tokyo could get, wouldn't hurt anyone.

"Why?" Zelda inquired, a little peeved about the lack of concern from the other girl.

"Well, skill isn't the only thing Link needs. Some strength and endurance really couldn't hurt." Mio packed away the braces into her pouch and grabbed her shoes in a hurry.

"Don't talk about me like I'm not here..."

"Come on! I'm not waiting all day."

He hated her. He truly did. While her and the princess got to sit on a blanket, having a picnic and talk, he had to run in a wide circle around a sightless, tree surrounded park with a set of braces attached to his ankles. At least Mio had the brilliant idea to give him a water bottle this time. The sun would dry him out in no time otherwise.

"Hey!" Link's brow twitched. "Do you remember me yet?" He had all but remembered the small fairy that he had met in Hyrule. She had followed him all this way, hiding in his hat. Mio only let him wear it out here since no one could see him. The ring of tree was thick and kept anyone from looking in. Located on the outskirts of the city, Mio claimed it was veiled from the rest of the world. Considering how clean and untouched it was, he'd have to believe her. The grass and leaves were vibrant and green. "Well?" She had started talking to him a while ago, remaining beneath his long green cap. He insisted on whispering his answers.

"No. Would you quit asking?"

"Hmm. Maybe I can jog your memory! You remember the Kokiri Forest, right? You were raised there after all!" _Raised there?_

"No, the royal family raised me. I'm telling you, I'm not your guy." Why did the word Kokiri strike a chord so deep within his mind?

"Not this life silly! In your past life. The goddess told me you'd remember."

"Goddess?" He inquired, slightly out of breath. How long had he been at this now?

"Yes, a goddess. From beyond Hyrule. Jonquil was her name, I think. She's the one who brought you back."

"What?" Was this little ball of blue light insane?

"Oh. You... you don't know?"

"Know about what?" She was making very little sense. There were only three goddesses, Nayru, Din and Farore. Why would another one interfere? "Look, you have the wrong person."

"No, I don't! You have the Triforce of Courage, I've seen it! You're him, you're the chosen Hero, there's no mistaking it!" H stopped cold in his tracks.

"It's not the Triforce, just some mock-up birthmark. If it was, I'm sure it'd work." His voice remained dangerously low. He did not wish to speak about this.

"Link!" Zelda's voice called from across the park, somewhere behind him. "Are you alright?"

He turned, but the park shifted away. The transition was instantaneous, leaving him feeling nauseous. In the park's place, he stood in a clearing, stone walls all around him. A child stood beside a window, peering in. When she seemed to feel his gaze on her she turned to smile at him. A veil covered her hair, her dress obviously of royalty. Bright blue eyes held unspeakable wisdom for her age. _Zelda_. Her voice came out young, sad and clear.

"When peace returns to Hyrule, it will be time for us to say goodbye."

He didn't know what to do. Shaky legs let him collapse to the grass below him, the castle faded away. The last coherent thing he saw was Mio running towards him. A pain shot through his head, like a sharp needle driving through his forehead. Vague images filled his vision. A forest filled with bewildered children. A great talking tree. The princess as a child, smiling sweetly at him. A man as dark as night. A small town at the base of a volcano. Creatures swinging at stone, eating whatever rocks fell off. Fish-people who held a domain beneath water. A cave filled with sounds of awaiting creatures. The final one struck something deep within him, enough to knock the breath from him lungs. A sword, vertical in a pedestal. Vines encased it. It's purple hilt called out to him. It knew him...

The sound of a shrill female scream awoke him. His eyes were greeted by a white ceiling. He deducted that he was in Mio's apartment. From head to toes his entire body felt heavier than iron, but only his head truly ached. He turned his head to spot Mio holding Navi by the wing, eyeing her critically. Navi continued to screech at her.

"Let me go! Unhand me!"

"Not until you tell me what you're doing following us around." Zelda stood off to the side, frowning. She was unsure how to take the situation.

"I'm Link's fairy!"

"But Zelda just got through telling me Link doesn't have a fairy. Are you some sort of spy? Did you tell that cretin Shade where we were?" Link forced himself to sit up.

"Mio, its fine. You can put her down. She's harmless." Surprised, Mio released the fairy, but not before managing a quick sneer in it's direction. "She's been in my hat the whole time. There's no way she would have told him."

"So it's been in my home this whole time?" Mio went ignored as Navi zipped forward, floating next to Link. "Just what does it want, anyway?"

"I-" Link cut himself off. He was about to say that he didn't know her but... "She's the fairy that..."

"Yes?" Navi asked eagerly.

"You... You were the fairy that the great Deku tree sent because..."

"You were the boy with no fairy!"

"Because I wasn't a Kokiri..." How strange. The images floating through his memory weren't his, but he felt as though they were.

"You _do _remember!" The blue orb began to dance around him, obviously thrilled. It was odd, he couldn't place the feeling. Was this nostalgia? The memories were there, the motions, the actions, the words, but there was no _feeling_, like they were nothing more than instructions to go by. _Not this life silly! In a past life!_ The past lives of the Hero. But he couldn't be... He didn't want to be.

"What does she mean?" Mio was lounging on the opposite couch. Zelda sat calmly beside her. Only now did he realize he was in the living room. He couldn't tell them. Mio couldn't begin to understand the situation, and Zelda might make too much of an issue of it.

"It's nothing. What time is it?"

"Seven at night. Do you think I'm going to settle for that bullshit answer?"

"Is it alright if I sleep here?" He couldn't move even if she said no. She stared at him, the emotion behind her eyes indescribable. When he thought she wasn't going to answer she opened her mouth to talk. At the same time Zelda stood to walk off to the kitchen, apparently satisfied that he was alright.

"Whatever. Just don't expect a day off tomorrow."

Weeks passed at a time, and soon it was nearing the end of August. Mio had developed a routine. Breakfast, train Link, teach Zelda, lunch, train Link, teach Zelda, supper, alone time. She didn't change it, even when Zelda caught a cold. Link progressed much more than Zelda, mostly because the princess spent most of her time ogling over Link. He had at least mastered all the basics, even gained an ounce of muscle. She'd be done with him in a month or so at this rate. Soon life would resume as it had been before.

Mio was currently alone with Link in a meditation session, something she'd resort to when she felt like having a lazy day. He was pretty good at zoning out. Mio could whack him with a stick, which she had previously tested, and he wouldn't budge. Today though, he seemed fidgety.

"You're doing it wrong."

"I know!" He snapped. "Sorry." He said quickly after.

"Do you want to talk to Zelda?" She had learned a few things about him. If something was bothering him he had to talk about it. He couldn't focus properly otherwise. He knew Mio wouldn't want to hear it, so he often went to Zelda or Navi to talk about things. The later not so often.

"No. Can't." That gave Mio pause. He _always _talked to Zelda about his problems.

"Navi?"

"She'd only tell Zelda." Mio stared at him a moment. Her silence made Link open his eyes and stare back.

"Oooooh. I get it. You like her."

"No!" Link nearly pounced to his feet. "She's like a sister to me! It's _nothing_ like that!" Mio clearly didn't buy it but remained calm and collected.

"Fine. Calm your tits." She kept her voice down. They sat in the living room, while Zelda was in the bathroom, taking one of her hour long baths. Luckily for Link, the bathroom was nearly soundproof.

"It's just..." He couldn't believe he was going to use Mio as a confidant. "You won't tell anyone this, got it. Especially Zelda. You see... It was around this time of year five years ago that her sister left. She was the true ruler..." There was a short pause and Link felt a small tremor of fear creep into his tailbone. "Why are you scowling like that?"

"The _true_ ruler? So... There's a chance that I've been teaching the wrong moron this whole time?" He didn't approve of the use of moron, but didn't complain.

"No, well, she hasn't come back, and we believe she won't. They both share the same first name after all, so maybe you do have the wrong Zelda... Why are you smiling like that?" The fear ran up his spine and curled in his throat. If anything was worse than a frowning Mio, it was a smiling one.

"You like the other Zelda."

"N-no! I'm merely concerned for Victoria!"

"Victoria? Is that her middle name?" Link swallowed hard, he could have swore he heard the bathroom door open.

"Link?" Zelda stood in a towel, a brush being strangled in her right hand. Her hair dripped onto the wood flooring. "Were you talking about Victoria? You know how I feel about my dearest sister." The princess' voice was strained and Mio swore she saw her left eye twitch. "Because I'm sure I heard her name." Link flew into panic mode. He did not want to deal with this.

"Of course not! Mio was just talking about how much she loves the brand _Victoria's Secret_!"

"What!?" Mio's exclamation went unheard by either party.

"Oh, alright." Her voice went from taut to sickly sweet. An undertone of anger still lingered. "I _must_ have heard wrong. Excuse me." Zelda left silently, ghosting into the bathroom.

"Excuse me?" Mio slapped him upside the head. "Seriously?"

"Sorry! But I couldn't do anything else. Melody gets extremely jealous. Look I'm not completely stupid. I know that Zelda's completely obsessed with me. She can be very difficult to deal with."

"She has been stalking you as of late. If it bothers you just tell her to fuck off." Link gave her a flat look.

"I can't say no. I promised her father, on his deathbed no less, that I'd protect her at all times. If that means dealing with her, then so be it."

"Congrats, she's already been kidnapped once. I don't think you should go along with her if she's really that crazy, you're only encouraging her." That had to be the most mature thing he had ever heard Mio say.

"It's complicated."

"Mio!" Zelda had thrown open the bathroom door and waltzed in. Her Hyrulian dress swayed with each step. "I wish to return to Hyrule. It's been quite some time."

"You sure?"

"Yes. Very. Link, don't you agree."

"Of course, princess." He sided with her unconditionally. It sort of irritated Mio. How could he stand to be pushed around was beyond her.

"Right now?"

"Please."

"Fine, I'll call Kenta."

The flight back to Hyrule was relatively silent. It was mostly only Navi who chatted away with a bare minimum response from Link or Zelda. Mio refused to talk with her, which was mutual with the fairy. They simply didn't get along.

By the time they touched ground it was well into the evening. The bright crescent moon was rising and stars were beginning to shine through the darkening sky. Everyone simply wished to retire to their quarters. As Link approached his bed, the fear that had been festering in the pit of his stomach, the fear he had somehow related to Victoria earlier, only seemed to worsen. A part of him wished they hadn't returned so early.

_Get away._ It was all that she could attempt to do. Her daughter, only the age of four, clung to her back, crying about Daddy. Daddy wasn't with them, they were leaving Daddy behind. She had been sparred from her father's gruesome death, but couldn't understand why he wasn't running with them. She continued to run, ignoring the tearing of her dress when branches clung to her. The dense forest was unforgiving.

When her boat had reached the sandy shored of Hyrule they had been attacked by a man. For a moment she had mistaken him for Link, but the power radiating from him, the darkness that accompanied it, he could never have been the Hero. Joshua, her husband, had been dispatched in mere seconds of setting foot within Hyrule. She took no time in grabbing her daughter and taking off into the surrounding forest.

She should have docked closer to Castle Town, but wanted to show her husband the sights of Hyrule. He was from England, a man she had met five years ago after leaving Hyrule. He had only found death here, and she feared the worst for little Enya, who continued to cry out for her Daddy in an agonizing quietness.

She stopped behind a particularly thick tree and placed Enya in front of her. Large blue eyes stared back, shining with tears. She herself had to do her best to remain calm for her daughter. This was her daughter's only hope. She knew the man was only after her, Enya could make it.

"Sweetie, ssh it'll be fine, you'll be fine. Listen closely." The girl quieted but her tears and small hiccups continued. "You remember how to use a compass, right?" The girl nodded and she slid the compass into her daughter's small hand. "Listen and do exactly what I say. Go north. You'll find a town. Don't talk to anyone. There will be an extravagant castle. Tell the people there you're looking for Zelda, okay?" The girl nodded once more, her light blond hair bobbing with the action. "Now run, and don't you dare look back. Go!" The girl was gone, her small form disappearing into the night. She stayed, waited. He'd be upon her in no time.

"Ah, the queen. Did you think you could run away, Zelda? Or do you prefer Victoria these days?" The smooth voice sent chills beneath her skin.

"It matters not, for you will not be the one chiselling my name upon my gravestone." He laughed at her. "You are the Hero's doppelganger, no?"

"Very smart, but not quite. You were such a promising ruler, nothing like your obtuse sister. It's a real shame."

"Drop the flattery." She turned to face him finally. It rocked her still, to see the Hero yet someone who was his opposite. But those red eyes gave everything away. Such malice... "May I choose the method in which my life will be removed?"

"No fighting it? I did not realize the queen was suicidal. Did the death of your husband grieve you so?"

"There is no use, I am not strong enough to fight you. Decapitation. It's as painless as it's going to get in such a situation." Despite her strong voice, her defiant posture, the tears that streaked her face showed her true weakness. She closed her eyes and took one last, deep breath. The smell of Hyrule hadn't changed. It was so pure. She'd miss it. The scraping of metal signalled a sword being drawn. An image of her daughter, so small and innocent came to mind. She could only hope for her. Victoria hoped she would not be missed by her too much, that she'd find happiness in that castle. Her husband, Joshua, she hoped she'd get to meet him in the afterworld. _I'm sorry._


	14. Chapter 13

Legends 13

Mio hadn't been to many graveyards. It's not that she particularly avoided them, but she knew no on close who was dead, no one to visit. Besides, graves were sort of pointless. A waste of good ground in her opinion. Ground where people came to weep and wallow in useless sorrow. It never got anyone anywhere, and dwelling in the past will never solve the problems of the future. She would have to opt out of the funeral whenever they decided to organize it.

But she could still feel it. That dreadful pull of sadness that was always associated with the dead. She had never lost anyone but she could feel that perpetual sadness of loss. It was hard to explain it, but yet it was there; in the pit of her stomach, weighing on her chest and ghosting over the back of her mind. Is this how they always felt? Those who lost someone, did they always feel this empty and sad? She had never bothered to ask anyone. Was this how Link felt? She hoped not, because that would really compromise her mission if he became uncooperative.

All that dread and sadness and loss, that's how the castle felt. Like a blanket as black as night had been thrown over the happy lives of those in Hyrule, blocking out the sun and it's promise of hope. Even the weather had taken a turn for the worse. The rain outside poured down on the roof, each hard droplet audible.

Link had been the first to hear the news, the one who had to tell Zelda that her sister was dead. He looked horrible, worse than the newly crowned queen. The way he slumped around with dark circles under his eyes. She figured him a zombie half the time. Link had refused to believe she was dead at first, had gone straight into denial. Right up until they showed him to the throne room he had been going on about how she could defend herself.

But there it had been, the head of the dead queen, placed precariously on the throne itself, a letter stuck between her dead teeth. She had been beautiful once, Mio was sure. Much more mature looking than her sister, but the resemblance was uncanny. Link had promptly broken down, the stress of everything must have hit him like a train.

Now the two sat alone in a drawing room, Zelda had been swept away to prepare for an emergency coronation. Link was curled into his chair, the note that had been found with the queen's head clutched in his hand. Mio remained cross-legged on the floor, silent. She was unsure of what to say.

It had to have been Shade, there was no doubt in Link's mind about it. The note in his hand had remained unopened, he simply couldn't bring himself to read it. Victoria was gone, and Link still couldn't bring himself to fully believe it. Somehow he knew reading the note would make all this that much more real. The true Zelda, queen of Hyrule had been slaughtered, along with it's new king. He would never get to see her again, not as she had been. She had meant so much and the constant pulling at his chest refused to stop.

"At least she didn't suffer much." Mio's soft words came as a surprise, but despite their gentle nature they encourage anger in him. What right did she have on the matter of her pain? Mio didn't know her, she couldn't possibly understand. Victoria didn't deserve what she got. His head snapped up and he glared at Mio.

"What the hell do you know!? Nothing! I was supposed to protect her, both of them! Who are you to say she didn't suffer beforehand?" Her blank stare did nothing to calm him.

"How long ago did she leave? Years ago. She's no longer the Victoria you knew. She abandoned Hyrule, left it in the hands of her moronic sister no less. Why should you care so much about someone who left you here?" Something in his eyes changed and she knew she had crossed and invisible line. In an instant his hands gripped the collar of her leather jacket, hoisted her up off the ground. His voice was dangerously low as he spoke, but she could not bring herself to feel threatened.

"Do _not_ talk about her as if you know her. You can't even begin to understand." No, she knew she couldn't. That was the issue. "She's dead, and it's my fault. I never should have went to Japan, never should have let Melody convince me to go. I could have saved her. This didn't have to happen, and now I'll never get to see her again. You can't even begin to comprehend what she meant to me. You're too cold hearted to ever care about anyone to know how I feel."

Her expression never changed. Mio remained stoic, uncaring, even inches from his face. "You loved her, didn't you?" He bulked, dropping her in the process. She landed soundly, but did not break eye contact.

"Used to." He was tense, his lips a thin line. "I knew she'd never return it, it was only a foolish crush. It's despite the fact." The anger that had brought him to this point was receding, only to be replaced by desolation. An awkward silence ensured. Desperate to hear something, anything, Link spoke, the tension and anger having evaporated. "You shouldn't be so heartless. It hurts."

"There's nothing much you could have done. We were meant to go to Japan, to be sent to find the Ocarina. Destiny's a bitch and once someone's fulfilled their role they are thrown aside, forgotten." That probably wasn't helping, and she knew it. Mio was never in a position where she had to comfort someone before, and it was clearly showing.

There was a moment of calmness that was nearly serene. Link had settled down. Somehow that didn't seem right.

A force jerked her head harshly to the left. Her feet lost track of the ground, sending Mio gliding across the polished wooden floor. The leather of her jacket almost squeaked from the friction. She only stopped when her back knocked into the wall beside an elegant blue sofa, narrowly missing the glass table. The metallic tang of blood gushed into her mouth.

Mio slowly got to her feet, staring at Link the whole time. He hadn't moved from where he had been before, but he was furious. Fists clenched tightly at his sides, brows furrowed and breathing heavily, he glared back at her with ferocity she had yet to have seen. He had punched her. Where had the strength and speed come from? She hadn't even seen him move.

"You were holding back this entire time!" Screeching, Mio pointed an accusing finger at him. "Weren't you?"

"What does it matter to you, you insufferable bitch!?"

"Oh, so we're going to resort to name calling now?" She could feel her own anger rising, delayed by her shock of being struck. Anger would be the death of her, she knew. "You're just upset because you never had the balls to tell her you loved her and ended up being the lackey of her obsessive sister instead!"

Link lunged at her, but she was alert now. A swift step the side kept her out of harms way, but he'd have none of it. With a small twirl he swung at her, but she ducked away then leaped towards the closed door, giving herself some distance from Link.

"To hell with you!" His voice rasped harshly, like he was struggling just to form words. "To hell with your lessons! You've been nothing but a pain in my side since you arrived. I never asked for this!"

Mio watched him continue his rant. Absently she wiped the blood from her mouth. He had certainly done a number on her jaw, but she'd heal quick enough. At some point he had switched to what she assumed was Hylian. When he noticed she wasn't paying him any attention his yelling ceased, jaw clenched tight.

"You done?" No answer. "Good, because I feel that we've lost sight of where we stand, hm? I'm not here to be _supportive_ or to be your friend. I'm not here to agree with or to tell you everything will be alright. I'm here to train you how to fight, so that maybe you won't fuck up Hyrule any more than it already is. Are we _clear_?"

Link muttered something in Hylian, but she was sure it translated to 'bitch'. He stalked towards her, pushing her aside so he could leave. Mio let him go without a word.

Link did not run and he did not look back. One might have cried in such a stressful situation but he could feel nothing except the tight grip of anger, and beneath that there was nothing, a hollowness. He did not speak to anyone he passed and made a bee-line through the gardens until he was well into the woods. Hyrule castle had once been the center of Castletown, but he was now grateful it had been rebuilt near the edges of a forest decades ago.

The canopy of leaves overhead blocked out most of the rain. He hadn't realized it had been pouring, meaning his mind was only now clearing. There was always something about the forest that called to him, helped him to relax and forget.

He had punched Mio. Never in his life did Link figure he'd hit a girl, it simply wasn't right. But did Mio even count? Overwhelmed he sat beneath a tree. The damp earth was cold, but he ignored it. Overhead the leaves dripped, but it was better than the full force of the rain. Closing his eyes Link inhaled slowly, breathing in the familiar scent of pine wood and grass. When his eyes opened he looked down at his hands, where the note was being firmly held.

It seemed to mock him, daring him to open it. A heaviness fell on his chest, and breathing became a hindrance, but he ignored his anxiety. Link needed to know it had been Shade who wrote this. In his mind there was no doubt. Cautiously he opened the letter and read it's contents.

_Dearest Hero,_

_I hope you enjoyed my handiwork. I've been working on it for years now, and I'll have you know I've been praised on it on many occasions. The husband was a real treat, though I doubt all of his remains will ever be found. As for the queen, I gave her what she wanted. Such a brave woman, shame to see her go. At least, I'm sure that's how her people felt. I can't say the same for myself._

_But I digress, Hero. Never had Zelda died at the hands of someone before, no that's what the purpose of the Hero is. Yet, here we are, with no Zeldas left. Oh, no worries about the princess, she'll be joining her sister soon, I can guarantee it. And what will you do, Hero? I know, nothing. Because it is all set in stone now. While you wasted away your life being nothing more than an armrest of a guard, I've been taking action. Unfortunately, I did not complete my initial mission. Shame. Neither the princess nor the queen possess the Triforce. It is a pain really, but it just means we'll be seeing each other at one point or another. Pity, they'll have died in vain._

_Shade_

Mind whirling Link read the letter over at least a dozen times before the meaning of the elegantly scrawled words meant anything to him. Finally it clicked: Melody was in danger. Letter forgotten Link bounded to his feet, sprinting towards the castle as fast as his legs would carry him.

The drawing room remained absolutely silent, like Death himself lingered here still. Mio watched Link from the corner of her eye. Since telling him of Melody's death (no one else had the capability to be as cruel as her) he insisted on lying upon the desk and refused to look at anyone. He had long since stopped twitching, a sign that he had ceased sobbing if her guess was correct. Then again, he could very well be dead.

Melody's death had been so sudden. In a matter of moments she had become violently ill. Mid-sentence with a guard about enhancing security she had began vomiting blood until falling over dead. It had lasted no more than a couple of minutes. Or at least this was what Mio had been told. When Link hadn't believed her, which she figured he wouldn't, a quick look at the body was enough to send him into devastation.

He had just recently begun to mutter. Something about a mark, but she honestly couldn't make a lick of sense out of it.

"You aren't making any sense." He fell silent and still refused to lift his head from off the desk, expression hidden by his arms. "Look I don't have a clue as to what's going on. You might as well fill me in here." Link looked at her now.

His bright blue eyes were bloodshot. Red splotched his cheeks. Lips dry. Link looked like a wreck.

"They're dead. I have no one left. Don't you understand? Hyrule's left without a ruler. The time for peace is over." The words 'no one left' struck a cord and Mio settled beside him beside the desk.

"It was _him_ wasn't it?" No further explanation was needed for Link to know who she spoke of. She was right. Mio settled for staring at her hands. It was almost painful to look at him. Almost. "You knew she was dead going into that room, why look so shocked coming out?"

"Because…" A heavy sigh shook him. "Because there was nothing I could do. Just like he said in that damned note." Link sniffled in an attempt to regain some composure. "He must… He gave her a death mark. There's nothing… He must have done it when he kidnapped her. There's no way around it." His voice broke harshly. "It's my fault. I should have tried harder." That's all he could manage before tears overcame him.

Mio sat there, useless. She made no move to comfort him. Instead she left, swiftly but quietly. As she did so she grabbed Navi out of the air in the doorway before she could enter.

"Leave him." The door clicked shut behind her, denying the fairy access. She braced herself for a barrage from the little annoying ball.

"Hey!"

"Just let him think for a bit. I'm no expert on people, but-"

"Evidently! I heard the way you talked to him about Victoria!"

"Would you shut up for a minute?" Mio strutted down the hall unsure of what to do with herself. However she was aware of the fact that Navi follow close behind. "Life is cruel. People die all the time. There's always someone mourning. He should know that, and the fact Hyrule is no exception. It's either face it or get stuck in your own wallowing."

"He was right. You are an insufferable bitch."

"Come back to me when you've read my biography." Mio was being sarcastic, but was sure the fairy wouldn't catch it. "I'll be taking a bath."

Her bath hadn't gotten her away from the sombreness of the castle. It had hardly been relaxing at all. Signs of mourning were everywhere. Mio could hear crying through the walls even. It wasn't in her nature to tolerate such things. So, instead of lingering within the castles' walls Mio decided to take a walk outside.

Hands in pocket and hood up she slowly sauntered her way around, simply enjoying the feeling of being outside. Today had to be the first overcast day she'd seen since coming to Hyrule. How strangely befitting that it had been pouring all day on such a day, and now it was attempting to rain once more. Oh well, Mio enjoyed walking in the rain. Even if the sky decided to crack open and pour it wouldn't bother her in the least. A little water never hurt anyone.

She must have seemed so insensitive to everyone else. Mio didn't so much as flinch or frown at the news of the royal family being wiped out. It's not that she particularly hated Zelda, or Melody depending on who you asked. Yes, her bubby disposition and inability to grasp concepts such as democracy or electricity annoyed her, but it's not as if she were intolerable. Mio would never go as far to say that they were friends, but Melody had been a fairly nice acquaintance. Unlike everyone else, Mio would not mourn her. Mio didn't mourn, it was as simple as that.

All that crying and lingering, it didn't make much sense to her. The moping and depression wasn't worth it, not when the person was dead and gone. People die all the time. It was a fact that would never change. Whether you are homeless or royalty, intelligent or uneducated, death will come for you. To Mio, mourning was equivalent to ignorance. Crying about it is the same as acting like you never expected it to happen. Everyone dies, why bother with mourning when you can carry on and improve the world to let others have a chance to live a little longer?

Caught up in her own thoughts, Mio threw caution to the wind and gave up on trying to keep track of where she was going. In fact, she cared so little that she didn't notice the two-foot bush right in front of her. One step too far and she went tumbling over it, cursing the whole way. The high-pitched scream that accompanied it did not belong to her, however. Slightly disoriented and flat on her stomach Mio watched with an air of curiosity as a young girl sprang from the bushes.

The little girl was caked in dirt. The plain white gown she wore was dirty and had small tears near her arms and legs. Her blond hair, only reaching her shoulders, was nearly white and very dishevelled. Though the young girl looked tired, her bright turquoise eyes shone with a mixture of fear and mirth as they settled on Mio. She couldn't be any older than five.

A moment of silence passed between them as they maintained eye contact. There was something… _special_ about the girl, but Mio couldn't pin point what. All she knew was that beneath her gaze Mio felt silly lying on the ground. Slowly, Mio stood and brushed herself off.

"What were you doing in that bush?"

"Sleeping." Came the small reply. Mio felt her own jaw drop a little.

"Why would you be sleeping in a bush?"

"That's none of your business. Excuse me, I should be going." With that the little girl brushed herself off, but did not move to leave. Her head swivelled side to side as she tried to gather her bearings. "Which way is the entrance to the castle?"

Mio's eyebrows shot upward. For a child she sure had one hell of a vocabulary. Mio approached the girl but kept a bit of distance.

"I'll make a deal with you. If you tell me a few things, I'll bring you into the castle, alright?" The little blond stared at her for a moment, as if she were taking in details at some sort of business meeting.

"Fine."

"Where are your parents?" For a moment Mio almost forgot that children had parents. Almost immediately the girl's lower lip began to quiver, but she gave no other sign of crying.

"Dead." Oh boy, now she had done it. Unsure of what to do, and a little awkwardly, Mio lowered herself to the girl's level.

"Is that why you were in that bush?" The little girl nodded. "What's your name?"

"What's yours?" The retort was swift. "Who are you?"

"I'm Mio. I… I guess you could say I help around the castle. Now what's your name?"

"Enya." She replied. Mio stood at her full height and offered her hand to Enya.

"Alright then, Enya. Maybe someone inside might know your parents or recognise you." The girl took her hand hesitantly.

He felt numb, both inside and out. Totally and completely numb. He had stopped crying a while ago, then proceeded to chastise himself for crying in front of Mio like that. But he couldn't shake the feeling that he had failed. That there was something he could have done to save them, but he hadn't done it. That there was something missing entirely.

He had failed Queen Zelda, had failed Melody, failed their father, failed Hyrule. He couldn't protect their ruler. Link had disappointed so many people in the last twenty-four hours, including himself.

"Way to go Link. You've really done it now." He whispered to himself. "Where am I supposed to go from here?"

As if on queue there was a knock on the door. When he didn't answer it a man invited himself in. Link recognized him as Melody's advisor. He was unmistakable with his owl-like features and tall and lanky build.

"Link, you may want to come to the throne room." His voice was subdued, but demanding. Without consent Link's body began to stand. There was no mistaking the urgency in the man's eyes.

"What is it Kaepora?" Now that he thought about it, that name sounded oddly familiar. Why did it make him want to cringe?

"We have found an heir to the royal family."

Link couldn't make it to the throne room fast enough. It was almost like the hall was stretching out, making it seem as if an eternity would pass before he came to the throne room. His heart was pounding, loud enough that he feared his eardrums might burst from the blaring thumping. How could they have found a replacement so swiftly?

The room was lined with guards on each side, standing stiffly at attention. In the middle of the room stood a woman plain in looks, Mio and a small child. He knew who the little girl was immediately though he had never met her once in his life. The hair, the eyes… She looked near identical to Victoria. He didn't get the chance to speak before the young girl flung herself into his legs.

"It's you!" She shouted joyfully. "From the picture! You're the guardian aren't you? Mommy told me all about you!"

Stunned, and mildly confused, Link stared down at the little girl. He gently placed a hand on top of her head. He looked between the woman and Mio for help. It was the woman who answered his silent plea.

"Her name is Zelda Enya, and she has sufficient proof within a kokiri pouch to prove she is in fact the daughter of our late queen. She claims her mother ordered her to run when they were attacked and to find Melody. Mio found her sleeping outside. She is the rightful heir."

Link stared down at Enya, who stared back with a smile. "Mommy always called me her princess, even taught me to be one! I miss them, but Mommy taught me it was better to let go, but never forget. There's no time to spare." He felt shocked to hear such words from someone so young.

"Kaepora and I already plan to take her under our wings." That's right. Now it clicked. She was the head of civil complaints. He couldn't recall her name though… "We are confident that this is going to work." Numbly he nodded. Was this his second chance? A way to redeem himself? Mio's words cut into his pondering, forcing him to look at her.

"Link. Everything happens for a reason." She looked down at Enya and he followed her gaze. The little girl was still smiling up at him and for once in his life he couldn't help but think Mio was right. A small smile broke out across his face.

"Welcome home, Princess Zelda."


	15. Chapter 14

Legends 14

The next few weeks were hard on the Hero. While he was glad that Enya had lived, that Hyrule had a rightful ruler, the loss of both Victoria and Melody still had a firm, cold grip on his heart. At least he need not worry about Hyrule's leader. Enya was very competent, especially for her age: six. She resembled Victoria not only in appearance, but also in the regal air the child held. The way she spoke left Link's chest tight with the memories of the late queen. So for now, he had made a point to avoid Enya until he could handle his own pain. Mio made at least that easy for him.

She had tripled the regime, not giving him so much as five hours of sleep. At first it wasn't so bad. It gave him a good distraction, made him feel partially useful, as his most recent failure made him feel numb and torn. But, as the days passed the initial shock wore off, and the wear and tear began to permanently numb, Mio's heartless snarkyness once again began to grate his nerves.

Typically Link was a very patient guy. He never got mad or careless with words. He bore his responsibility in silence, even if Melody had gotten on his nerves often. Never once did he snap. He prided himself in his calmness. However, when it came to this girl there seemed to be a shortage for tolerance. Like how within the span of four sentences he wanted nothing more than to yell at her and shove her aside. Even Navi wasn't proving as troubling. It only seemed to be getting worse by the day too.

"Are you even trying?" As usual they had brought their training out to the fields. And he was on the grassy floor, staring up at his mentor. Mio was clearly agitated, but so was he. Once again, she had managed to trip him up before he has a chance to draw his sword. Which was the point of this little exercise. "I mean, seriously now. We've been at this for hours. I'd really like to be over with this."

"Yes I'm trying!" He snapped. Link was swiftly on his feet again. He wanted to walk away, to tell her off, but he felt that would somehow make her the winner. "Would it kill you to give me a break?" He was trying desperately to reel in his anger, but he was barely getting anywhere with that. A part of him was encouraging that rage, to just snap and let whatever may happen, happen. "We've been in this damn field day-in day-out, rain or shine. Can't I have a damn day to myself?" But he should know better. Harsh words would get him nowhere in life.

Mio stood there, staring at him as if he were boring her to death. It took quite a bit of self-control to keep himself from lashing out, if only to gander some reaction. She continued to stand there, contemplating for what seemed an eternity and a half. Finally she spoke. "Are we really going to do this?" He narrowed his sharp blue eyes at her and remained silent. "No. You can't have a break. Whatever it is that you need to sort out with yourself you can do while eating, bathing or meditating, but not on my time. Personally, I don't care who you lost. I know that's what it's about, that there's very little else you have to dedicate your time to. Get over it, it's been nearly a month."

That did it. He was done. Not caring that she won, what she might say, Link turned and began to stalk off. He got a whole five steps before he was pulled back and sprawled across the grass. From this angle he could see the tree line. Bight green foliage and fir trees. The sky was a gorgeous blue. The serenity was the opposite of how he felt; simmering anger and coursing with frustration. Link stood with a low growl. Mio remained still six feet away, arms crossed over her small chest.

"Chickening out? I don't think so. We settle this now. I know you're pissed, so go on, do your worst." Her arms uncrossed, but she did not stand ready to defend herself. "Oh…" She said suddenly. "I get it now, it's me you have a problem with. Well come on then you tool. Try me."

Dare he? Honestly he didn't trust himself right now. He could feel himself teetering on the edge, and his rational side was too fed up to do anything to help reign in the anger. Before he could register what he was doing, Link was up and charging at Mio. He did not get too close as she yet again surprised him with her unlikely strength. Mio had met him half-way, ceasing his approach by grabbing his arms and holding him a small distance away from her. He found it odd how she was smirking at him, as she typically did when she outdid him. It did nothing to calm his anger.

"Heartless bitch!" Really, she brought out the worst in him. She still stared blankly at him, clearly unaffected by the insult. "I've done what you wanted, am I not allowed anything in return?" Mio frowned at him.

"No you didn't. I asked you to unsheathe your sword before I disabled you. Freaking out at me was not what I wanted. Now calm down, before I am forced to calm you down." He hated her, but she was right. He needed to calm down before he did something really stupid. His arms went lax. Mio released him. "Good. Now get back in position. We're finishing this today."

"No."

"For the love of…" Annoyed, Mio ran a hand through her hair. "What are you, five?"

"I'm old enough to make my own decisions, and I'm done. I'm going back to the castle." Again she grabbed him before he could go anywhere. Link resisted the urge to push her to the ground. "Let me go."

"Make me." She challenged.

"Mio, I don't-"

"Want to hit a girl? Is that why you've held back? Where I'm from that's called sexism, inequality among genders. If you want me to let go, make me." He frowned at her, she frowned back. "Well?"

"I'm not going to hit a girl."

"That didn't stop you from smashing me in the face a few weeks ago."

"That was different. I wasn't in my right mind!" Mio's leg kicked out, hooked his heel and yanked him to the ground. "What the hell?! Can I have a conversation with you without being dropped?"

"You're a poor excuse for a man, did you know that? You can't even take anyone's advice or speak your mind. You may curse and yell at me, but you even hold back your words. You couldn't tell Victoria how you felt or save her. But you know what? Her daughter is an easy target, and if you don't shut up and nut up there's no doubt in my mind that your little doppelganger will kill her next. Have your break, but know that it's time that you're wasting, time that could be put toward saving that little girl." Mio left him with a scowl, not a shred of mercy to spare.

It got worse from there. Every training session, every meal, every bump-into at a corner resulted in an argument. Link's mood steadily deteriorated. Whether it was that he was still mourning, that he felt as though he failed or that Mio's pessimism was actually getting to him, Link was feeling the strain. No matter the cause, it felt good to blame it all on the psychopathic witch that was supposed to be his mentor.

"Are you alright Link? You seem a little… under the weather lately." Kaepora stared down at him with his small dark eyes. His large grey eyebrows were knitted with concern. Link stared back, tension evident in his shoulders. He couldn't even walk the hallways in peace, could he? Link did not grace Kaepora with an answer. "I see. Come, walk with me." When Link did not follow the older man pulled him along. There was a moment of silence before Kaepora spoke up.

"You've been put under quite a bit of stress lately, haven't you? I can't help but notice your mentor's behaviour lately. She's been very hard on you, but she does have good intentions, I'm sure. Though… It wouldn't hurt her to loosen up, as the death of the princess and the queen was so sudden. You grew up with both of them, and suffered a great loss, but you cannot hold this against the one who is trying to help you."

"She had no intention of helping me, only herself!" He snapped. "She is only here because she was ordered to be here."

"Yet she did not let any harm come to you or Melody in Japan or in that temple, or at least to the best of her abilities. Do not look so surprised, I was Melody's confidant you know. She had told me everything." Kaepora kept his tone even, calm. It was almost enough to help Link's nerves. Almost. "I am the royal family's confidant, aid and advisor. I know much more than you give me credit for. Like the mark on your left hand you often cover." Both ceased walking, both stared each other down. Kaepora didn't flinch, Link refused to blink. "I know the royal family raised you, a secret only I was told. I know that you are the chosen Hero, whether you have come to accept this fact or not. I knew that neither Melody or Victoria posses the Triforce of Wisdom, nor does little Enya. However, I do believe the young princess posses some great power. Above all, I know that before you is a great destiny; one that will bring about many trials. That being you met in that temple, it is no coincidence that he looked like you, like the Hero. There is very little that I can explain to you…"

"I'm not the Hero. I can't be, I've already failed if I was." Kaepora shook his head at him.

"The royal family…" Kaepora sighed and attempted to turn his thought into words. "It is difficult to explain, as nothing is falling into place. As I said there is little that I can offer as it has been over a hundred years since Hyrule has seen it's Hero. Though I'm sure you know plenty about the Hero."

"You keep saying _the_ Hero. There's more than one Hero." Link shifted uncomfortable, back and forth between feet. He didn't want to have this conversation, he was no Hero.

"That is untrue. The Hero reincarnates, the same yet different each time. Your parents must have recognized the symbol you were born with; the Triforce of Courage. Thus they named you Link. Do you think it's a coincidence that all the Hero's have the same name?"

"They don't. There's nothing to prove it." Again, Kaepora sighed. Yet he remained steady as he spoke. Hesitantly the advisor reached into his pocket and presented Link with a key.

"Take it. There's a library beneath the castle containing the recorded history of Hyrule, but no one except the Hero may reach it. It might serve you well in the future."

"I'm not-"

"You _are_ the Hero, there is no doubt in my mind. Please, accept it." In a moment of quietness Link took the key. Did Kaepora expect him to be the Hero? How could he be when two members of the royal family were dead and he was supposed to be their protector?

"Enya believes more than anyone else that you are indeed the Hero. She says that she can see it your eyes. Her mother has taught her well." Silence. "I'm sorry. I have only added to the tension, haven't I? You should get some rest, before your mentor tracks you down and forces you to train through the night." Kaepora left in the opposite direction that he had lead Link, leaving him to stand in the white high arched hallway alone. Numbly he navigated his way to his room without incident.

As sluggish as he moved, his thoughts were flying a hundred miles a minute, making it impossible to grasp a single thought at once. What was he supposed to do? Beneath his ribs Link's heart was pounding against the bones. His muscles ached, he could feel an oncoming migraine. He knew he needed to calm down, but Kaepora's words had sent him reeling. He entered his room and promptly fell on his bed.

_I can't keep living like this. Now Link, lets go over the facts._ His name was Link, his last name was lost the night his family died. At three months old his parents and sister, age four, were hunted down and killed. His sister, whose body was closest to him when found, had hidden him in a tree. The royal family's guards found him no more than a day later. The one who had killed his family had been found dead a day after that, suicide. The royal family had taken him in, raised him in secret alongside Melody and Victoria… But, why would he be taken by them? Why not just give him to another family? It wasn't for show, he had been kept a secret…

Unless he really was the Hero of legends. They kept him because he could be useful to them… It explained a lot, even the fact that they wished for him to be a knight, to protect the princesses. Then why wouldn't they just straight out tell him he was the Hero? Was it because their daughters did not have the Triforce? Because he might leave to find the one who did? Then there was his doppelganger, Shade…

He had called him Hero from the very beginning, knew about his left hand, about the well… It was true what Kaepora said, their resemblance was uncanny. The fairy, Navi, insisted she knew him in another life… He remembered being a child in said life, but not at the same time. All the evidence was right there. Was he in shock? Maybe. Because now that he sat down and thought about it, he knew he was the Hero. There was no way he couldn't be. His fate was sealed, and there was nothing he could do about it. But that wouldn't keep him from refusing it.

The ground was swiftly becoming his most intimate friend, as Link was finding himself laying on top of it more often than usual. Whether covered in dirt, grass, cobblestone or gravel he'd land on it with various reasons. Thrown, tripped, pushed, pulled, bumped; Mio had no shortage of ways to toss him around. On multiple occasions he had contemplated on just staying to sky gaze. To tune out Mio's shouting and just give up for an hour or two. Not today, no. Today was the last straw.

"You're not trying, are you?" Came Mio's flat remark. She stood there in the typical pose, arms crossed. Link sat up. She was, as always, very annoyed.

"I don't know. Are you? Because I don't think you're trying to teach me _anything_. I think you just like throwing me around for your own sick amusement." Her black eyebrows shot up.

"Sick amusement? I think I've been hitting you too hard. You think I get a kick out of this? Do I look-" Link cut her off before she could continue.

"Yes, I do! You tell me to do something, but never give me the chance."

"You never try!"

"I do try! But I'm beginning to think you're some sadistic psychopath bent on making my life a living hell!"

"Woah! Slow down! Are you retarded? You think I get my jollies out of slapping you around? I'd be glad to leave actually! I'm sick of your bitching and whining. Maybe you'd actually improve if you'd suck it up and shut up!"

"If I'm so lazy then why don't you just become the royal guard?" Mio must have missed his sarcasm because she actually answered.

"Because I don't care! This isn't my country, hell, I barely even care about it either!" Her volume had tripled and Link knew he was pushing his luck with her. This was the first time he had heard her truly raise her voice.

"Then enlighten me, what _do_ you care about?" Mio calmed too quickly, but her chest rose and fell with the anger her face refused to show.

"Nothing. I never had and never will have anything to care about." An air of tension brought an uncomfortable silence. Knowing he may actually be risking serious harm, as Mio's lack of mercy promised, he asked the obvious question.

"Then what's keeping you here?" She was staring down at him, but her cloudy blue eyes gave him nothing to work with.

"Nothing." There was something in her tone, a certain finality to the word that seemed to suck all the anger out of him. She turned sharply and made her way out of the castle's garden clearing, taking the path that lead back to the castle. With a surge of realization Link jumped to his feet and rushed after her.

"Hey!" She ignored him, but he was swiftly at her heels, easily keeping up with her brisk walk. "Hey! You're not actually leaving, are you?" Though he was angry with her he knew deep down that she was only there to try and help him. Hell, he even had a civil conversation with her every now and again, as rare as that was. Just three days ago he managed to get a four hour talk about modern politics out of her without being insulted once. Not once! That had to be a record for her.

"Of course I am." Her tone was flat, the words falling lifelessly from her lips. Her eyes remained ahead of her, her feet didn't falter.

"Come on, now you're being childish."

"No, I'm not. I have no purpose here. You're impossible to train. I should have known you were hopeless from the start."

_Hopeless?_ Link ceased walking. Mio continued to talk. "Goodbye. Have fun with that doppelganger of yours. After all, it's your problem, not mine." Mio didn't look back, only waved before disappearing into the castle. _She thinks I'm hopeless?_ Hadn't she been the one who said he was the only one around the castle with a shred of talent? Better question, why did he care about what _she_ had to say about him? He didn't need her help, right? She hadn't been helping in the first place.

He must have been standing in the garden for a while because the helicopter he had once labelled monster zipped by overhead. Mio had simply left.


	16. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

Link didn't need her anyway. All she ever did was insult or kick him around. He'd be fine without her so called guidance. Whatever the Hero needed to do in this life he'd be able to handle in her absence. If only he had a clue as to what he was supposed to be doing.

Navi had disappeared a week ago, but she seemed to float off often. It was around the same time as Kaepora had given him the key. Speaking of Kaepora, the advisor was keen on acting like they had never had the 'Hero conversation', as Link had called it. Link had tried the blasted thing on nearly every door he could find in the castle, to no avail. His only inkling was that 'only the Hero could reach the library'.

At this point he had given up on searching for the room and had returned to his home on the outskirts of Castle Town. He did not plan on staying. Leaving Enya alone, defenceless in the castle Melody was captured in, was not an option. Link was there for a break.

It had been a bit dusty upon entering, but nothing was damaged or misplaced. Though, since all the soldiers had removed most of his belongings under Melody's orders, only his bed and a few other possessions, such as cooking gear, remained. Not that these things mattered. Link had to get himself on track.

Though no other sort of villain, aside from Shade, had made their presence know, Link felt the need to attain an edge for what may lie ahead. Dealing with the doppelganger would be problematic enough. Now, what was it that only the Hero could do? He had not heard much of the Hero, but he would have to make do.

The Hero was always in the possession of the Triforce of courage. Said Triforce was a by-product of the three Goddesses. The Hero was usually responsible for the fate of Hyrule, needing to aid the bearer of the Triforce of Wisdom in the process. The bearer of Wisdom was always the princess, but now it didn't make any sense. Victoria, Melody and Enya were all that was left of the royal family, and none of them had the Triforce. Shade knew, and Link had seen as much. The mark on one's hand gave it all away. Lastly the Triforce of power belonged a power hungry man hell bent on taking over Hyrule. That's all he really knew, but none of it seemed relevant now. Nothing fell into place. What else…?

With a sudden realization Link reached into his kokiri pouch and produced a small blue instrument: The ocarina. He had forgotten that Mio had handed it over to him. He knew it was important, like a distant memory begging to be recognized. What had he said about it when Mio found it?

A searing pain shot through his head. Beyond that he could feel his hand burning. The sharp sound or ringing shook his ear drums. The pain spread, blurring his vision, like he had been thrown into a pool of dark water. All of the air in his lungs rushed out, leaving him gasping. He couldn't breathe through the pain. There was a sound, barely audible over the rushing in his head, as his knees fell to the floor. In a matter seconds Link passed out.

Link awoke swiftly, as if his body had suddenly realized he was still alive. In a single motion Link sat up only to flop back into the bed someone must have placed him in. All he could tell was that he was not in his old home. His head still ached, but it was liveable compared to the unbearable pain he remembered. What had just happened? Had he just taken a seizure, or an aneurism? Maybe something he had eaten that day…? It was almost too confusing and painful to think about. The most he could manage was identify the room he was in as his own, in the castle.

"Ah, you're awake." Kaepora leaned into Link's view of the ceiling, staring down at him with his concerned beady eyes. An owl… He reminded him of an owl… He had helped him as a child, flew him down a mountain… But Link had never been to Death Mountain. Certainly not as a child. "I was beginning to wonder if you'd ever wake up. How are you feeling?" The slender man placed a glass of water on the nearby nightstand then seated himself in a wooden chair.

Link stared at the glass, but his limbs refused to move. He felt utterly and completely exhausted . He gave up on the water and tried to come up with an answer to Kaepora's sentence, eyes glued to the condensation dripping down the glass's surface. Goddesses he was thirsty….

"I'm alright. I think." His throat was dry and it made his sound like a pipe smoker. With whatever strength he had left Link reached for the water, grateful his arm didn't give out and drop it, and greedily drank it's contents. He didn't remember sitting up to drink it, but he had. "…How long was I out for?"

"Nearly a week." Link was stunned into silence. Nearly a week? Kaepora had to be joking, but one look at the man told him otherwise.

"Tell me," Kaepora stated when Link remained silent. "I have a theory. Do you remember anything… odd? Out of place?"

"Odd?" Link parroted. Remember anything odd? What did he mean by that?

"Yes, odd. About me in particular, if you will."

"You?" He almost stammered, but caught himself. Should he tell him? If it were to become embarrassing he could always play off remembering Kaepora as an owl on delirium. "You were an owl. You helped me… Helped me, I can't remember what but it was important. Then you…" Link stopped himself and gave a quick glance in Kaepora's direction. Kaepora stared back with a look of mirth and expectation. "The sage of light. You're the sage of light."

"Do you know the legend of the sages?"

"No. The royal family was keen on keeping away from the old legends."

"The seven sages were said to have aided the Hero in his quest to save Hyrule on more than one occasion. That's what you remember me from. From over five hundred years ago."

"That's not… I can't-" Link was at a loss for words. "That time. I thought I had Zelda but I hadn't, but I'm not-"

"You don't want to be the Hero, you're on the fence about it, but you are him. But it's true. In this life you have been given all the memories of your predecessors."

"So the pink hair…?"

"Past life."

"The creepy mask guy?"

"Past life."

"Navi?"

"Past life." Kaepora stated it with an air of finality.

"But you are the sage of light, even in this life, aren't you?" Link threw his legs off the side of the bed, bringing himself to sit beside Kaepora. Someone, he noticed only now, had changed him into his pyjamas. The pain in his head was ebbing away, but there was a sense of dread taking it's place. He was absolutely, without a question the Hero. And the Hero often died young.

"Yes, I am. Like you I have many memories of past lives. It's odd at first, remembering the motions but not the feelings. You will come to get used to it." Link could only hope so. Still it was less overwhelming than he expected. The memories stayed at bay, as if waiting to be read much like a book. Only there when wanted. "You have a lot to take in, young one. I'll leave you be. Do not hesitate to call a servant to fetch me if you need me."

Link heard him leave but did not look up from the floorboards. He wasn't too sure how long he sat like that, contemplating on his next move, but the shrill voice of a particular fairy shook him from his thoughts.

"Hey! Listen!" A nerve threatened to twitch behind his eye as a sense of annoyance overcame him. "Do you remember me now?" Navi floated into his view, lighting up the floorboards beneath her with a light blue glow.

"Yes." He did his best not to yell. His clenched jaw did nothing to remove the tension in his voice. "You abandoned me. I got stuck in Termina because of you." Though it hadn't been this life, Navi had still caused quite the grievance for the Hero. Navi's wings sunk and she landed gently on the floor.

"Oh… Yeah." Sadness tinted her tone, but he knew better than to buy into. He wasn't going to go easy on her until he got a straight answer from the little blue ball. "You see, I was dying. I had to return to the forest or a spring. You weren't a Kokiri…"

"Elaborate." His voice faltered. Why had she been dying?

"A fairy with a Kokiri partner can live off the energy they give off and vice versa, which can allow the Kokiri to leave the forest without aging. Many Kokiri's don't know that, and fairies are content with the forest. Fairies can't live on their own outside of the springs or Lost Woods. I'm pretty strong though, which is why I survived so long with you."

"And you couldn't have warned me?"

"I'm sorry! I couldn't reach you in Termina though!"

"Not me. The Hero." Link applied pressure to the bridge of his nose, pinching it. He could feel another headache coming on. But he was wide awake, so sleeping it off wasn't an option.

"You are the Hero. His soul is your soul." He wanted to flick her away, but he was afraid he'd kill her. Besides, his initial annoyance was fading.

"I know. I've been told. So you've been in those woods this whole time?"

"No. I've travelled to a few springs too. I'll have to go back every now and again. I'm not as resilient as I used to be." A silence overcame them for a moment. Navi floated up, causing Link to finally lift his head. "Enya, er Zelda wants to see you. She's been awfully worried about you."

Silently Link stood. He'd have to get dressed, but he wouldn't leave Enya to wait. He wished Mio had left behind a bottle of that Tylenol.

"You don't have to kneel, Link." Enya giggled from her spot behind a desk. "Come on, sit!" The young princess patted the chair beside her and Link was hesitant to take it. He had found her in the study, where she had her face buried in a large, wordy book. He wasn't too sure how to go about treating her. She was extremely intelligent for a child, but she was still a child. "Kaepora told me you were awake. I'm so glad you're alright."

"Yes. I'm alright. How are your studies?" She gave off such an air of royalty and authority. Speaking to her made him feel like the child. Enya smiled at him knowingly, like she was fully aware of his awkwardness.

"Fine. Kaepora claims I'm a genius, but I'm not too sure. He also says you have all the memories of the Heroes before you. Is that true?" She looked at him with large, curious turquoise eyes.

"Yes, but they're a bit jumbled." Her smile grew in size.

"I'm a sage too! Just like Kaepora! Do you remember anything about me?"

Honestly, she didn't spark many memories. A few here and there, all princess Zelda, but nothing too substantial. But he wanted to make the child smile. "You were the princess in every life. Enya, do you-?"

"Have the Triforce?" She interrupted. Link looked at her expectantly. He knew already, but maybe it was hidden?

"No, but I am the sage of sages, or the sage of time. I don't remember anything like Kaepora does though…"

Link's headache doubled. This wasn't right! The princess always had the Triforce of Wisdom. Enya gave him a sympathetic smile, like she understood his pain. "You have been under a lot of stress, huh? Maybe you should rest. I won't push you as my aunt before me did. You should go for a walk or something." Link eagerly took the opportunity to be alone.

The summer breeze picked at his hair, tickling his forhead with it. He chose to ignore it and enjoy his spot in his favourite meadow. Beneath the largest tree, laying to stare at the fluffy clouds from beyond the foliage. Around him birds chirped at each other, the trees rustled gently with every breeze. This was what he needed: clean air, bright leaves and only the sound of nature. If only he had brought a fishing rod, then he could mosey over to the pond not far from here. But it was the perfect opportunity to clear his mind.

The deaths of Melody and Victoria still hung heavily on his heart, but there was nothing to be done about it. He had to let go. Let go of the brotherly love he had for Melody and the silly old crush he had on Victoria. To let their souls rest in peace. He had to dedicate his time to protecting Enya, in honour of them and for the little girls sake.

He was the Hero. There was no room left for denial or petty wishing. He was Hyrule's final line of defence; their strongest. He had to protect them from whatever evil may come, and the one that had made itself known.

The key Kaepora had given him was heavy in his pocket. He had a responsibility to live up to. He had to pick up where Mio left off. Speaking of which, he was now regretting chasing her off. She had been a valuable asset. The way she fought off Shade in the temple, her lack of pain and frame of mind might actually be extremely helpful now. Mio was skilled and he had let his stubbornness get in the way. He'd have to find a new mentor. Maybe Kaepora might know of someone.

As predicted he had. For the majority of June Link trained with the older guard, surpassed him even. Link became dedicated to his training. Found an equilibrium in it. He studied all he could about the art of swordsmanship. He would admit now that Mio had been correct in many things, but her training tactics were dreadful. Eagus, his new, now retired, mentor, had done him a favour. One he could never repay. He taught him much in the frame of half a month. But his mentor hadn't been enough he felt. The way Shade fought, the way even Mio fought was well beyond Eagus' capabilities. So Link set out to find his own way of training, by searching out the temples. Starting with a return to the Forest Temple.

Navi's weak glow did little to light Link's way. He raised his lantern higher to observe the narrow hallways before him. Unlit torches lined the walls, but he knew better than to light them. The thick layer of dust covering them was highly flammable. Burning down an architectural relic was not on his list of things to do.

Every step disturbed the dust, sending it in a light cloud skyward. He had lost count of how many times he had sneezed. Each one had drawn enemies closer, minor monsters with nowhere else to go. Skulltulas, bubbles, poes, keese, deku babas, a few wolfos. Nothing he didn't remember from his past lives. Certainly nothing he couldn't handle.

Lately he had been feeling empowered, like he could make a difference. So far he was beginning to think being the Hero wouldn't be so bad.

"Hey! Link!" Navi floated over to a door. "This leads to the inner gardens." It seemed Navi hadn't forgotten much either.

"Some fresh air wouldn't hurt, huh?" Link gave the wooden door a good pull. It creaked under the pressure but opened none the less.

Gnashing teeth greeted him, accompanied by the foul stench only a deku baba could produce. On instinct Link slammed the shut, snapping the deku babas stem. The head fell to the ground surrounded by a pooling green liquid. Link stared down at it, as if he had nothing to do with the situation.

"Smooth." Navi commented. Link opened the door slowly, stepping over the corpse precariously as he exited the hall. Navi flew off to a well, as no other creatures lingered in the open area. It was all as he remembered, though the grass was dead and the vines on a nearby wall were well into the process of decomposing. However, as he got closer, he noticed the well water was sill fresh, the opposite of the dried up pond.

Link wasn't hesitant to take a drank, but not before dousing his lamp. The high sun provided plenty of light. The cool water was refreshing relief after being stuck in the dingy halls of the temple for the majority of the morning.

"I'm going to check out up there for a moment, see if any of the door hinges have rusted over too much." Link could only guess she meant the ledge above the gardens that lead back inside.

"Go ahead." Navi floated away, much faster than he thought she could move. With the opportunity to relax Link shucked off his boot and sat on the ledge of the well. The dead grass grasped at his toes, but it didn't bug him. He could get used to this. Travelling around, enjoying the sights.

The small garden was eerily silent, now that Navi was gone. Even the light breeze had gone still. A tension overcame him and Link quickly retrieved his boots. Something was wrong, something that felt strangely familiar.

"You look rather serene down there Hero." Link's heart stopped, he was sure of it. His head snapped up so quickly it nearly made him dizzy. Above him, on the ledge, Shade leaned against the railing. Shade smirked devilishly. Navi had gone up there to explore not three minutes ago.

"Where's Navi?" Link demanded harshly.

"The annoying blue ball? Locked in the hall behind me dodging keese." The doppleganger's smirk deepened. What could Link do? He knew Shade had greater skill than his own. "It's been a while since we last spared, hm? I think it's time to be reacquainted." Shade jumped the rail and landed soundlessly, sword drawn. The Hero jumped to his feet.

He should run. He wasn't prepared for this. He could take off down the hall, find Navi. He knew there was another way to get to her. Link wasted no time and made a break for the exit, but Shade was already there, slashing at him. There was barely enough time to block but Link managed to draw is sword in time.

"Tsk. Tsk. Where do you think you're going? I see your reflexes have improved. Where's that little fireball? She's already surprised me enough times." Link frowned at him. Shade backed away only to swing again. Blocked. "Come on, don't make me find out on my own." No answer. "Oh! She left you because you were too pathetic for her tastes. I see. You thought you could block me out, hm?"

"Stay out of my head!"

"Ah, you finally figured that out! Enough talking!" Shade knocked Link's blade aside with a simple manoeuvre and grabbed the Hero by the collar, only to push him down. Before Link could react Shade plunged his blade through Link's left palm, pinning it. Link screamed out in pain but swiftly silenced himself. There was no time to falter he had to find a way out. The sword slid from the wound with a slick sickening sound, leaving a red pool in it's wake.

Link rolled backward, grabbing his own sword along the way with his right hand. Shade was too fast, however, and a searing pain spread through his right shoulder. The retrieved sword fell to the ground once more. Link fell as well, a crippling pain searing through his torso. It was as if the wound was melting him from the inside out.

"I won't kill you today, there's no need to waste any more effort on you. I'll let fate destroy, much in the way I let fate kill that princess. You have until your next birthday to live. Congrats." Shade was gone, disappeared in a flurry of shadows. A numbness overcame Link as the stab wound in his shoulder stitched itself shut. He knew what had happened now. There was the sound of a door opening and Navi's frantic cries. She was soon beside him, asking about the hole in his hand.

Words failed him. He could not tell her had had just become a victim of the curse mark. The same thing that had killed Melody.


	17. Chapter 16

Legends 16

Even hours after they had reached the castle Navi insisted on knowing what ailed Link. His typically tan complexion was hauntingly pale and the slightest sound made him jitter. The permanent look of defeat did not help her calm down.

"It was just the usual death threats." Link said as he clutched his bandaged hand. He had been lucky the healer was awake when they got back. "He's only trying to scare me." Navi scoffed at his weak lie.

"Yeah sure. My glowing blue behind he was! I highly doubt Shade just wanted a buddy to chat with!" She flew into his face, gripping his nose. He glared at her, eyes crossed, but she still continued to talk. "What really happened?"

"Nothing! Geez, he just stabbed me in the hand for fun! It's kind of how he works." A gentle finger poked her aside. "It's been a long day." In fact he had spent the last twelve hours rushing back to Castle Hyrule and getting his hand patched up. "I'm going to bed. Go bother Kaepora or something."

Link swatted her out of his bedroom and shut the door behind the angered fairy. He gripped at his left hand as he made his way back to his bed. It had stopped bleeding at least, but it severely hurt when moved. Unfortunately he'd have to wait 'til morning to get a potion for it. How he wished Mio had forgotten a bottle of painkillers. Flopping unceremoniously onto his bed he'd have to make do with the pain.

To think he had just come to terms with being the Hero, then he went and got himself killed. The death mark was an ancient, irreversible curse. One that took a lot of dark magic and skill to perform once. Usually the one placing the curse died upon setting it. Shade had performed it twice now, and didn't show any signs of weakening. Link felt grossly unmatched.

Now all he had left was three weeks. Maybe Hyrule could find another Hero? He had to try none the less. Link did not want to spend his final days sulking. He took the key Kaepora gave him from his pouch. A key to a room only the Hero could reach. Immediately his eyes flew to the blue ocarina on his desk. It was the thought that had sparked his past lives' memories.

Knowing he could not sleep, even if he tried, Link vaulted to his feet and snatched up the instrument. He remembered it's secrets, the dependency he once had on it. He knew many songs, but which one would bring him to a secret room in the castle? Zelda's lullaby couldn't hurt to try. Link placed his lips on the cool ceramic spout and the notes came to him naturally, like they were an extension of himself.

The song ended but he felt no different. Groaning in frustration Link opened his eyes, not realizing he had closed them. The sight before him made his jaw go slack.

Instead of coming face to face with his bedroom door Link was confronted by a mass of stone. It took him a moment to realize the stone, at least five times taller than him, was a set of doors. Before his feet sat a slab of withered wood. Ancient script was scrawled in metal across it's surface. He shouldn't have been surprised that he understood it. _Here lies the Sage of the Forest_. Wall sconces lit the door enough for him to find the keyhole.

The instant he turned the key the door jolted. A green light seeped from between the doors cracks, casting an eerie glow. The doors opened inward, groaning from it's rusted hinges, but halted half way. Like it was stuck on an invisible hitch. Cautiously Link entered, right hand readied for his sword. Then he remembered he had left it behind. In fact, he was completely weapon less.

There was a light inside, a couple of candles flickering here and there. Bookshelves as high as the doors lead him like hallways. Books were packed into them, their leather bindings old and rough. There was less dust than he expected, but that didn't keep him from sneezing. The further he walked, the brighter the light became.

There was no need to stop until he reached a domed room. Other shelves circled it, leading down various, darker halls. In the middle of the circular room the floor transitioned into dirt and a small oak tree was surrounded by candles. At it's base sat a young girl, someone he recognized immediately. Saria.

The Kokiri in his memories looked very different from the one sitting before him. Her once cropped green hair was now long. Long enough to cover the majority of the floor around her. She was taller and much thinner, like she hadn't eaten in decades. She most likely hadn't. Her once sun kissed skin was now a ghostly white. Frail, she looked frail. Like she might shatter if she moved from sitting in perfect seizing. But at least she was breathing. Somehow she had managed to live for hundreds of years in the castle

Without another sound Link pressed the ocarina to his mouth and played her song. When he was finished she was staring at him, expressionless. The bright blue of her eyes stood out against the candlelit dimness of the room.

"You should know, I was awake this whole time. You could have just said 'hi'." Link shifted slightly, unsure of what to do. Saria seemed obliged to fill the silence. "How long have I been in here?"

"Four centuries. At the least." Saria frowned.

"So… There's no way that the Zelda I know is still alive? And I had all these wonderful thoughts of strangling her." Link gawked at her. He must have misheard. "Oh, don't give me that! You haven't a clue! After the whole escapade with Ganondorf, Zelda had a vision of you meeting me in the distant future. So after she sent you back she still had all the memories, and had me thrown in here to wait! Guess she was right though. But do you know what's it like!? I spent most of it sleeping, preserving my life force and living off this same tree! If not that I'm reading."

"I'm sorry? I didn't… I wasn't even sure what was down here."

"I am! Now get me out!" Link stood there, temporarily stunned. He hadn't expected to find another person, let alone a sage. And she was so _different_. A pang of guilt hit him. If only he had come sooner. "Please?" The harshness of her tone had dropped to flat out desperate. Her eyes watered with hope.

"Of course I will. Why would I ever leave you down here?" Link kneeled down to her level and reminded himself that she was much older than she looked. "Do you mind if I look around first?"

"There's nothing much. I've read nearly everything. It's all jumbled and worthless. Everything in here is older than I am. You've been the first person in… well ever. They're mostly old medical books, outdated even by my standards. And old stories of princesses and fairies. Wait. There is one thing though. Can you carry me? I haven't been able to walk for a while." He didn't dare ask or think about how long awhile ago might be. Ha gave her a piggy back. Saria directed him further into the library, passing a spring as they passed. It was supplied by a pipe above and he assumed it drained as well. It looked clear enough.

He stopped in a far corner, by a large chest. Gently he settle Saria onto the wooden floor and crouched to inspect it. It was old. Deathly old. Old wood had chipped away to reveal the metal casing beneath it. Dust and moss had taken a liking to it as well.

"I've never been able to open it. The lock is unpick-able. Trust me, I've tried. But maybe you could find a way? Or we could drag it back with us?" Link pulled out the key for the door and hoped against all odds. To his surprise the key actually worked. Maybe it was one of those skeleton keys. He pocketed it, reminding himself to never lose it. The chest creaked open with a screech.

Inside he found a metal shield. It had seen it's fair share of battles. Scratches and minor dents marred it's face, but he recognized it none the less. The same shield he always seemed to find in every life. The Hylian Shield. Despite the wear and tear the symbol of the Triforce and a red bird were depicted clearly on it's surface. Saria reached into the chest.

"I've never seen this before." It was a necklace, tied together with a teal cord and beads. It held a large blue scale, or so Link assumed it was. "Do you recognise it? Zelda said that you'd have all your memories from past lives, which is why I'm guessing why you didn't ask for my name. Or even understand me. You do realize you're speaking ancient Hylian right?"

He looked at her over the shield. No he hadn't known. "Yeah, I do have them. But I don't recognise it." It was odd. The item seemed familiar, so it must be important. "Can you hold this?" She took the shield and held onto the necklace as he picked her up with one arm. He held the ocarina in the other. He really hoped that Zelda's Lullaby would bring them back.

Link had presumed correctly. The moment they arrived back in his room he brought Saria enough food to feed a stable of horses. From there she cleaned herself up, ate another round of food, then claimed his bed for her own. He hadn't bothered to tell Kaepora about her yet, not until she was feeling a bit better. Navi, however, charged through the open window at the speed of light.

"SARIA!" The little blue orb bounced off the sage, landing with a small _touf_ on his bed. "You're still alive?"

The sage smiled down at her. Link remained silent in his corner by his desk, tinkering with the necklace they had found. "And so are you." Saira commented. Navi hadn't been around for Saria's 'honourable imprisonment', thus it was nice to see a friendly face. Navi buried herself in Saria's hair, an attempt at a cuddle. Her wing's made a little jingling sound as they twitched with excitement.

"Hey Navi, have you seen this before?" The fairy peered toward the Hero, then at the necklace in question.

"Nope." Well that was helpful. Link sighed.

Absently he grabbed Saria's empty food tray and set off to bring it to the kitchen. He ignored the cooks' stares, not too sure if they were annoyed by his demand of food, or amazed that it was all eaten. Without making eye contact he asked for a couple of bowls of soup. He might as well eat something too. They didn't question him as they filled a couple bowls or when he left with just a thank you.

When he returned with the third tray Saria had moved from the bed and was laying on the floor. Navi pulled at the girls ear, like she might actually be able to lift her. Green garments sat on the edge of the bed. Link laid the tray on his desk and helped the girl back onto the bed.

"Thanks. My legs sorta gave out. I was going to put them away for you." She gestured to the cloth. Link picked them up revealing a set of chain mail beneath. The Hero's clothes. Alike in every life he had yet slightly different, but the deep green was unmistakable. He lifted the long cap. Saria didn't miss the glint in his eyes. "I made it all myself, quite awhile ago."

"I was found with a similar hat as a child, but the servants misplaced it when they moved my things to the castle." Link gently folded the clothes and put them away. There was no way in hell he'd ever go out without them now. It would be disrespectful if he didn't.

"Your parents must have known you were the Hero. That or the name Link would have been a really big coincidence." Before Link could reply there was a knock on the door. They did not wait for Link to answer. Kaepora shut the door behind him. Saria glared at him. It seemed she recognized the other sage instantly.

"So it was true." Kaepora stared back at the girl, his dark curious eyes met her angered blue ones evenly. "If my memory serves me correctly you are the forest sage. The one trapped within the library."

"You knew I was there the whole time? Why didn't you come get me?!" Link looked to the advisor. Better yet, why hadn't Kaepora told him she was there? If Link had known he'd have tried harder to find the room.

Saria attempted to stand, fists clenched by her side. She pitched forward, only to be caught by Link. He flinched when the weight struck his dominant hand. He had completely forgotten about the injury.

"I'm guessing you're Rauru's reincarnation?"

"There was nothing I could do, only the Hero could reach you. And yes, I am Kaepora, Sage of Light." The royal family advisor spoke calmly. "There is much for you to catch up on Saria. Everything appears to be skewed."

Saria sat back down and Link sat beside her, in case she decided to pummel Kaepora after all. Kaepora remained standing. "There is usually a pattern to the Heroes' lives. They're only ever conscious of the Triforce when there is a danger to be thwarted. Are you saying that's out of balance?"

"Not that, precisely. Though it is odd for the sudden change, for him to have these memories. Enya, the current princess, is the Sage of Time, but does not posses the Triforce of Wisdom. It never leaves the royal family, but we've checked everywhere. Only a single interloper has shown his face, but I fear there is more. Everything is jumbled, there is no clear path."

"I see… and why am I needed? What use am I, besides being a sage?"

"You are a direct line to one of Link's past lives. You're the only being that might know where the Master Sword lies."

"You know what Saria? I think one of two things: Either Kaepora lied and you're guessing where the sword is, or you're torturing me for all the lives that didn't come rescue you."

Saria sat on his back, legs crossed, hair short and content. She rose and fell with every one-handed push up he managed. A small yawn of relaxation came over her. She had been adjusting well since coming out of the library. Though he now shared a room with her. She hated being alone, and nightmares were common with her. It helped to know Link was only a few steps away from her bed.

"It's been awhile since I read it's location, and even then it's probably moved since. It's not easy you know."

"I know, I know. What am I on? I lost count talking."

"Sixty-seven. Sixty-eight. Where did Navi go anyway?" Saria scanned the woods for the little blue orb. They had been out searching for a week, hunting everywhere for the resting place of the Master Sword. All the while Link took what time he could to train. His hand had since healed. Mostly. It still got stiff on occasion. Still, the pressure of losing time was hard to deal with and he would not let a nearly healed injury get in the way.

"She probably went off to a fountain. You know how she is. Never says when she's leaving." Navi had become a close companion to Saria. Having her around was always nice, certainly since Navi was the one telling Saria about everything that had transpired since her 'imprisonment'.

Saria idly inspected her fingernails. She did that sometimes. Moments where she'd fall silent, drawn in by her own thoughts. Mentally she counted each rise Link made. She had to say, his self-driven training was coming along well. Along their travels he made it a point to pick on gangs of bulblins and the like; finishing each skirmish without a scratch.

"I'm sure the Master Sword is in Kakariko village." Saria stated with a tone of confidence.

"Well, we've looked just about everywhere else." Link commented snidely. Saria gave him a pinch, earning a yelp. "Well it's true."

With an urgency Saria vaulted off of the Hero, kicking him aside in the process. Each rolled and came to a short stop. Saria and Link shared a wide eyed stare before both sets of blue eyes fell upon a knife, buried to the hilt in the ground where Link had once been. It's black hilt was wrapped in a blue, intricately woven, material.

Link stood, drawing his sword, the old gift from Mio. "Saria stay hidden." The girl took off to stand by the edge of the forest, but stood ready for a fight. "Show yourself!"

His response were several more knives, all like the first, the last of which he managed to deflect with his shield. There was a pause before he was bombarded by thin needles, raining down from above like rain. It was all he could do to squat beneath his shield and wait out the attack. From what he could tell the attacker was completely ignoring Saria.

He was at loss of what to do. If he moved he'd be dead, filled with thin needles. If he didn't move his enemy was bound to draw closer. Link was a sitting duck. Finally the barrage of needles stopped. Cautiously Link rose from his spot. The ground around him was riddled with the sheen of metal. Carefully he stepped away from them.

"You're kidding me…." He muttered in awe, beneath his breath. Whoever was attacking had great aim, because not one had gone more than a couple inches from where he had defended himself.

"Quit hiding, coward!" Came Saria's shrill cry. She reached out and grabbed something invisible. When she pulled her arm back a tree not far from their small camp collapsed in the forest. A figure jumped through the air and landed just outside of the clearing. The hooded villain kept their head downcast.

He wore an array of blues and whites. Link didn't fail to spot the black kokiri pouch dangling at his side or the sheathed sword at his side. As if sensing his gaze the stranger drew his sword. His baritone mocked Link as he spoke.

"You know, I could have killed you at least two-hundred and seventy-six times in the last ten minutes. You aren't a very tentative person." Link opted to remain silent. He readied his sword and shield. The stranger recognized the challenge.

One moment he was there, across the small clearing, the next he was above Link, emerging from a puff of smoke, upside down. An extended hand reached for his shield and in one quick jerk Link's shield was thrown into the woods. The stranger landed behind him gracefully.

Knowing he had little time to react Link was quick to turn around and begin attacking. The stranger parried every blow with quick soundless moves. Link could hear Saria cheering him on, and he wondered if she was even going to try helping him at all.

"Enough!" The man dropped low, kicking out the Hero's legs, leaving Link on the broad of his back and winded from the fall. Saria's cheers turned to cries of panic. He looked over just to find her trapped behind a translucent blue barrier. "Not bad. Not bad at all." A hand extended into his view. "Get up. I have a proposition for you."

Link stared at the offered hand. If the man meant harm he would have dealt harm. Hesitantly he took the stranger's hand. Link was pulled to his feet fast enough to make him dizzy. Saria remained behind her prison, pouting.

"So you are Hyrule's Hero. She must be the Forest Sage. I'm slightly impressed, but you have much to learn."

"And who are you then?" Red eyes glinted beneath his hood as the man regarded Link's question.

"I am Sheik, and I have been sent to help you."


End file.
